Man and Machine
by Big Snakeman
Summary: I died once, I saved someone I cared for, someone I loved. Now I'm back to ensure that she will keep on living. Will power allowed me to survive. Family's assistance allowed me to live. I have a purpose. I am Man. I am Machine. I am Cyborg.
1. Prologue: Reborn

**Man and Machine**

This is a crossover with the Darkman Movies. Anyone who's seen the Darkman Trilogy knows what I'm talking about. Good movies in my opinion, they show a human's potential for evil and their ability to use that evil to their own advantage.

The story starts a few months before STD and a few weeks after the Darkman III: Die Darkman Die. Anyone who's familiar with Darkman, well that's good for you. I'm using some dialogue from Classic Cowboy's 'Dark Knight'. It was his idea before mine.

**Disclaimer: I own neither Kim Possible nor Darkman.**

"Talking"

'Thinking'

_Flashbacks_

_I thought I was dead, I thought I was useless. Just a distraction to insure that my best friend could live and save the world like she usually did. The more I looked back at my life, the more I see myself as a coward. I could barely admit my feelings to myself, let alone her. In a final act of desperation to insure that she lived, I sacrificed myself. In a slim miracle, thanks to family, my life was saved. I won__'__t waste my time pitying myself. I survived for a reason, and I will take advatage of the fact that I am alive. I was given new life when I survived that explosion. I am alive. I have a purpose. I am Man. I am Machine._

_- Ronald Ezekiel Stoppable  
_

Prologue: Reborn

* * *

There was darkness. 

All that he could comprehend at the moment was darkness and a beeping sound on his right.

He opened his eyes to see himself in what looked like a combination of a hospital room and a cybernetics lab.

"Dad, he's regaining consciousness," say a young voice, sounding female. He looked and saw a young girl who seemed to be around 12 years of age.

She was about 4'3" with shoulder length, blonde hair and bright green eyes. She was wearing a pair of black cargo pants and a dark blue blouse.

"Very good, Sarah," a man who looked to be in his late twenties early thirties walked in. He was about 6'5" and had long, mid-back length, dark-brown hair pulled into a braid and bright green eyes. He had such a good physique that quite a few people would mistake him for a female if he didn't have a serious case of five o'clock shadow. He was wearing a pair of eye glasses while he read up all of the notes taken about the young man's health. The father turned to the young man and asked, "How are you feeling, Ron?"

"A little stiff," Ron admitted as he tried moving his arms a bit to brush his messy blonde hair back a bit. He was feeling a great deal of resistance with his muscles. "Uncle Zeke, where am I and why am I here?"

"You've been in a coma for the past week and a half," the man, now known as Zeke, informed him. "What's the last thing you remember?"

"I remember going out on a mission to stop Dementor," Ron began.

_Flashback_

_It was suppose to be an average mission, infiltrate Dementor's lair, stop his doomsday weapon and insure Dementor's arrest._

_The problem was that Dementor going beyond normal caution and set it up just incase he failed. He learned from a few of his mistakes._

_Dementor had escaped launched an escape pod of his own before activating the self destruct for his lair._

_They only had twenty seconds, all the openings were sealed off, there was only one escape pod left and there was only room for one of them._

_Ron made the final decision and knocked Kim out before placing her and Rufus into the pod. "Take care of her, Rufus," was all he said before he pushed the close button._

_Rufus nodded to his friend with a tear and activated the pod._

_Ron saw the escape pod leave and the only thing in going through his head was, __'I__'m sorry I can't be there for you anymore Kim, I love you.'_

_The last thing Ron remembered was the explosion and a great deal of pain before he blacked out._

_End of Flashback_

"Kim!" Rons exclaimed. "How is she? Is she safe?"

Zeke moved his hands in a gesture that said to calm down, "She's just fine, her pod cleared just outside the blast radius."

Relieved that she was safe Ron asked, "So how am I still alive?"

Zeke started reading over his charts while listening to his nephew. "Sarah, go get your mother," he ordered. When she was gone Zeke looked up and said, "Initially, I haven't a clue. It appears you have a strong will to live, but I digress. I had to put you through a biotechnological surgery procedure, most of your body couldn't be used under normal circumstances so it was the only way you could continue living any form of lifestyle."

"Biotechnowhat?" Ron asked, clearly confused.

"Biotechnology, or Biotech, is something I've been developing for quite a few years now, it is the result of an organism that has natural and technological components living in near perfect symbiosis," Zeke explained to his nephew. Noticing his vacant expression he asked, "You have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?"

Ron shook his head.

"Well, I guess that's the result of your laid back lifestyle," Zeke said, mostly to himself.

"Although, I didn't get most of what you said, I did catch the part about near perfect symbiosis," Ron responded. "I may not be the best student but there are just some times where you can't help but listen to what's being taught," he admitted sheepishly. "Symbiosis the living together of two different organism, be it through benificial terms or dependence. Now why is it only near perfect symbiosis?"

"Because no one, as of yet, has cracked the code for self healing and self advancing technology," Zeke explained. "It's only near perfect because your body is still adjusting and growing and will, most keep on doing so for the next nine years of your life. Which is why a colleague of mine is transferring copies of his data to my computer every time he advances, no matter how small the step. Meaning that this project is only half of a success."

"And who exactly is this colleague you're getting help from?" Ron asked.

"James Possible," a voice said from the doorway. "Good to see you again, Ron. Although the circumstances could be better."

"You're telling me, Dr. Porter," Ron answered. "Anyway, what are you doing here? And why is Mr. Dr. P involved?"

"To answer your first question, Vivian is Sarah's mother," Zeke explained as Vivian took Sarah to bed. "And James is only involved because of how far and how extensive his research has gotten. Knowing all the benefits of my research and how far his project he's named Haphaestus could bring, he's agreed as long as I keep it out of the wrong hands."

"Okay, how exactly could that project be used for evil?" Ron asked curiously.

"That's not something for me to answer," Zeke admitted honestly. "I'd prefer to keep all things confidential for the sake of safety. If you want all the facts, just ask James himself, he should be here in a few minutes."

"Why is he coming here?" Ron asked. "And where exactly is here?"

"We're actually about halfway from the Middleton space center and the Middleton Institute of Science and Technology," Zeke answered while double checking all of the health charts.

"So why did you choose this location?" Ron asked. He then remembered something and asked, "Wait, are we at your house?"

"Very astute of you," Zeke said while putting the charts down and taking off his glasses and placing them on the stand next to Ron's bed. "I'm actually surprised you remembered where I live."

"It actually kind of burned into my memory when you told Mom and Dad," Ron admitted while rubbing the back of his head. "Why haven't you been over recently? I mean the last time I saw you was at the wedding."

"Yeah, that was something to remember, especially with that plasma cannon motorcycle you tried to use on Shawn," the recollection brought a chuckle to his face.

"It's been a while since I've seen you think anything was humorous," Vivian said, bringing attention to her.

"As the saying goes, 'What goes around, comes around'," Zeke explained. "Shawn has been asking for it for some time so when I saw Ron put him in his place, albeit, moreso than necessary, I couldn't help but laugh. Anyway, did you call James?"

"Yes," Vivian answered.

"Okay, quick question," Ron said. "When exactly did you two procreate?"

Zeke would have done a spit take on Ron had he been drinking anything, "Do you know what you're asking?"

Ron just replied, "Should I have asked when you two consumated your relationship?"

"Apparently he does," Vivian responded.

"Sarah is a result of a form of procreation but not the traditional kind," Zeke explained after getting over his initial surprise of Ron's vocabulary. "Through the usage of a DNA sample from myself and Vivian I was able to construct a perfect human through my experiments, Sarah was the experiment number sixty-eight, the last one I attempted and the only one to survive," he finished with a tear in his eye.

"So your failures saddenned you?" Ron asked.

"Hardly," Zeke answered. "Failure is just another learning experience, which is actually most scientists, myself included, enjoy. It was the fact that the first sixty-seven died, every one of them were my children and I valued each of their lives," he admitted with another tear.

"You said that Sarah is a perfect human," Ron said as he remembered the conversation. "Does that mean that she's capable of extraordinary feats?"

"Sarah is no more capable of anything than Kim," Zeke explained simply. "When I said that she's a perfect human I meant that she carries the potential for greatness that every human has and that she has faults that normal people carry as well, she has no extraordinary features and can't do anything a normal person can't." Zeke paused and then added, "The same thing can be said about Kim, the only reason she is able to do what she does is because not only does she believe she can but others do too, more specifically you," he finished.

Ron thought about this and wondered, 'Why would she be able to do those things because _I_ believed she could?'

"You're gonna have to figure out why on your own," Zeke said responding to Rons thoughts. "Before you ask, your facial expressions are like a looking glass to your thoughts, and, from what I've examined, the only one who can't read you like a book is Kim herself."

"Okay," Ron said somewhat skeptically.

"Now I need to give you a physical examination to see how your body is adapting," Zeke said and turned to Vivian. "Please leave the room for a bit, I think he would prefer a bit of privacy."

"Sure," Vivian said, understanding the implements. Before she left she said, "I'll call down when James gets here."

"Gotcha," Zeke said as he started all necessary procedures.

Meanwhile, at the Middleton Space Center...

James possible was working late on the Hapheastus project when he received a phone call, to which he answered, "Middleton Space Center, Dr. James Possible speaking."

"James, its Vivian," she informed. "We need you to come over to Zeke's lab for a bit."

"Thank you for the info, Vivian. How far is Ezekiel's project?" he asked.

"That's one of the reasons why we need you over here," Vivian told him. "The other is for personal reasons."

"What kind of personal reasons?" James asked, curious as to what was so personal that his colleague needed him to go to his lab.

"You'll find out after you get here," Vivian responded vaguely.

Although James didn't like secrets being kept from him he knew about Ezekiel's paranoia, most of which he has for good reason.

"I'll be there in about ten minutes," James told her as he saved all the data for the Hapheastus project. "See ya soon."

"Sure," Vivian answered and hung up.

'Now what exactly is so personal for all the secrecy?' James thought to himself as he clocked himself out of the space center.

It took all of eight minutes for James to reach his destination, which wasn't all that surprising given it was around 11:40 pm.

James pulled into the driveway, parked his car and locked it before he walked to the front door. He rang the bell and it wasnt ten seconds later before Vivian answered the door and let him in.

"So what's with all the secrecy?" James asked.

"It's more of a see and believe kind of secret," Vivian told him as she pushed a button on a machine on on of the coffee tables. "Zeke, James is here," she said through a microphone of the machine.

"That's good because I just finished the physical," Zeke voice responded through the speaker. "Send him down."

"You heard him," Vivian said. "You know where to go."

"Of course," James answered as he walked down the hallway. When James reached a three-way intersection in the hallway, he moved a flower pot to reveal a thumbprint scanner to which he placed his thumb, the computer scanned his thumb and a section of the wall moved upward, revealing a doorway, a retinal scanner and a keyboard and monitor. He placed his eyes on the retinal scanner. After the scan was completer he moved over to the keyboard and typed in his password. 'I wish for my children to be happy' was what he typed and pressed the enter key. The doorway openned horizontally to reveal an elevator which he stepped into.

"Good evening, Dr. Possible," a computerized voice greeted.

"Good evening, Veronica," James replied.

"Which floor will you be visiting tonight?" Veronica asked.

"Ezekiel's lab," James answered. "He has something he needs me to see."

"Right away," Veronica said.

The elevator started and about fifteen second later the doors openned to reveal Zeke's research and development laboratory.

Zeke walked out of the medical ward and saw James, "Good for you to come on such short notice."

"Anything for a friend," James responded. "First, how far is your research? Second, what couldn't be said over the phone?"

"The first and second are actually intertwined," Zeke admitted. "A life was on the line, and as far as my research was, I could save him."

"Who did you test it on?" James asked seriously.

"You can come out, Ron," Zeke called out.

A few seconds later the form of Ron Stoppable walked out of the medical ward, surprising James.

"Hey Mr. Dr. P," Ron said, confirming the authenticity.

"Ronald, I thought you were MIA since the mission almost two weeks back," James admitted.

"He's been in a coma since the explosion," Zeke explained. "During that time I had to reconstruct the majority of his body cell by cell. Unfortunately, I couldn't use all cell, so, as a result, he is the first success of my research, although he's also the first attempt."

"I thought you wouldn't test your research until it was at least ninety percent complete," James interjected.

"The situation was dire. The world, among others, needs Ron, I didn't want him to die and Veronica would have rung my neck otherwise, especially considering we're not on the best of terms right now," Zeke said. "Besides, what would you have done if your brother's only child's life was on the line and you were the only person in the world who could save her."

"The same thing," James asked. "Wait, Ronald's your nephew?"

"You mean, you didn't know?" Zeke asked. "But you've met my family before, how could you have not known?"

"Sometimes I forget, you and your sister look nothing alike," James admitted.

"That and I'm not Jewish," Zeke said. "Sometimes I think you are probably the stupidest genius I've ever met.".

"I concur," James said, of which both started laughing.

"James, you can't tell anyone about this project," Zeke said in all seriouness. "You both know how I feel about this country, especially considering what they could do with my research. This city is a diamond in a pile of coal. I'll be educating and training Ron with his abilities until I feel he has enough control to live at least a remotely normal life."

"What about Kim?" Ron asked. "Surely she needs to know that I'm alive."

"Kim isn't the only one," Zeke admitted. "I'll inform Veronica and Jerry ASAP."

"What about me?" a voice said from behind them. A figure of medium build wearing a trenchcoat and a hat with bandages wrapped around his face and hands stepped out of the shadows.

"And who are you?" James asked.

"James, Ron, let me introduce you to my partner," Zeke said as he walked right next to the bandaged man. "This is Dr. Peyton Westlake, his area of expertise is advanced bio-chemistry."

"Thank you for the introduction, Dr. Williams," Peyton said. "And thank you for your assistance, if not for you, my finished research would have been lost."

"Westlake..." James said to himself. "I've heard of that name before, I thought you died when your lab exploded."

"I survived with severe burns," Peyton admitted. "My lab was right by a harbor, the explosion blasted me straight into the water."

"Sounds like you went through a great deal of physical pain," Ron said.

"That would have been the entire case, had my nervous system not been disconnected from brain," Dr. Westlake admitted.

"He has no sensation of feeling within any of his limb," Zeke informed them.

"I had also heard that you were working on a form of synthetic skin tissue, through which could replace scar tissue, allowing the person to be able to commune freely, as if no disfiguration had occured," James added with some thought.

"Due to Dr. Williams assistance, I was able to have a backup copy of my data," Peyton said. "He's also promised to assist me in another project for humanity's benefit."

"That's all great, but what does synthetic skin have to do with me?" Ron asked.

"Did you honestly think that I could have been able to insure your survival if I'd focused on appearance?" Zeke asked.

"The final result of my research, the liquid skin that wraps around the persons limbs, is what is covering the majority of your body," Peyton informed them. "Without my research, you'd most likely be even more of a social outcast then before."

"Okay," Ron stated. Wanting to change the subject he asked, "So what exactly is the project I've become apart of called."

Zeke extended his hand, "As much as I would love for you to have had a choice, there was no alternative."

Ron took it in confusion, "Whats with the greeting?"

"In this case, I'm welcoming you," Zeke said. "You are now an active member of this project."

"Whether or not I have a choice doesn't make a difference to me," Ron said. "Will this allow me to be of more help to Kim?"

"That depends on how well you adapt and perform with all the changes, as well as the final upgrades you'll be receiving," Zeke told him firmly. "Are you willing to do the work?" he asked.

"If it means that Kim will be a great deal more safe, then I don't care if I have to die again," Ron stated with no hesitation as he made uey contact with his uncle. "I'm here for the full duration," he said not breaking the eye contact.

When Zeke looked into Rons eyes he saw a determination like no other. He saw how serious Ron was. Zeke smiled and said, "The name of this project will be your code name." Zeke paused to let Ron take in this information and continued, "Ronald Ezekiel Stoppable, let me be the first to welcome you to Project Cyborg."

* * *

To be continued... 

Send a review and give the necessary criticism. This is simply a pilot chapter. Anyone have any ideas for the storyline, send them. I already have the basic ideas and the ending.


	2. Chapter 1: Anguish and Paranoia

**Man and Machine**

**Disclaimer: I own neither Kim Possible nor Darkman.**

"Talking"

'Thinking'

_Flashbacks_

_I thought my life had lost meaning when he died. I couldn__'__t go on any missions. I could barely take attending school. Everything reminded me of him. If Rufus hadn__'__t been with me, reminding me why I__'__m still here, I know I would have taken my own life. I don__'t care that my __complexion is gradually getting more sickly, or that my body is getting thinner. Cheer practice just isn__'t the same without him and his Mad Dog antics. I find myself having troubles sleeping because visions of what happened. I only have a sliver of hope because his body had not been found. Ron, if your out there. Come back to your family. Come back to your friends. Please, Ron, come back to me._

_- Kimberly Anne Possible_

Chapter 1: Anguish and Paranoia

* * *

Two weeks later...

Cheer practice had been spiraling downward since Kim's last mission against Dementor. Her focus was completely off and more often than not she would have been injured had in not been for her squad companions. She just didn't seem to have her heart into it like she usually did.

Under normal circumstances one well-tanned, snobby brunette would be relishing in Kim's misery. But in this case, kicking someone when they're down wouldn't be the smartest thing. Bonnie doesn't like shoving Kim's or anyone else's face in misery unless she's the cause of it. And she's experienced the results of this particular mad scientist first hand. And finally, Bonnie saw first hand what would happen when someone talked smack on Stoppable as of recently.

_Flashback_

_Kim was walking around, not really looking or caring where she was going, her thoughts solely on Ron. It was through this aimless walking that she ended up in the D-hall. Thats when she heard some guys talking._

"_You hear about Stoppable," she one say._

"_What?" another asked._

"_Rumor has it that he saved Possible from an explosion at his own expense," the first one said._

"_Pfft, gimme a break," the second responded. "That loser's too much of a coward to give his own life for someone else, even if it is Possible."_

"_I agree," a third voice added. "He was probably the one to cause the explosion and pushed Possible in while trying to save his own hide."_

_The three guys started laughing._

_Thats what pushed Kim over the edge. At this point she was like a bull, and the three bullies were completely red to her._

_Bonnie was walking by and happened to hear the conversation. Fortunately she had seen Kim and knew better than to piss her off like that, especially when the source of her misery was the topic of their conversation._

"_Would you like to say that about Ron again?" Kim said menacingly as she approached the idiot trio, whom._

_End of Flashback_

Let's just say that Bonnie would have been traumatized if her home life had been remotely normal, mostly due to her sisters.

Kim had been suspended for two days, while the D-hall trio had to spend the rest of the semester in detention, as soon as they got out the hospital, that is.

Barkin was being as lenient to Kim as possible given the cicumstances. The situation with Ron was affecting him as well and the trio would have gotten worse than detention if he had caught them.

At the moment, a smooth cheerleading practice with Kim as head didn't seem possible while she was still in this funk.

Bonnie finally decided to step in and talk to Kim, "Kim, as much as I don't like you, I still respect you enough to tell you that you need to get your head together."

"I know," Kim admitted. Not really caring who she was talking to at the moment, "It's just not the same without Ron here. And I'm not talking about just cheer practice."

At this point in time the only ones who would be able get her out of the mood shes in currently are Dementor, which would result in him either being gravely injured or dead, and Ron himself.

"No matter how much I detest Stoppable, I have to agree," Bonnie admitted herself. "Hell, he's one of the reasons we were able to make and win regionals. The other reason is you. So, K, you're either gonna have to find Stoppable, take some time off of practice to get your focus back, quit cheerleading altogether or make me head cheerleader again," she told her rival, seriously hoping for it to be one of the first two. She really did _not_ want to do all of that work for an extended period of time, especially if Kim wouldn't on the squad anymore. That would just make thing a whole lot worse.

"You tell anyone about this and so help me..." Bonnie threatened, she still had a reputation to keep up as the school bitch.

"No problem," Kim said as she walked to her fellow cheerleaders in a slightly better mood. She told everyone that she needed to take some time off to get her head back on right.

The girls accepted, some not knowing how hard it's been while other knowing the death of someone close can affect a person like this. Although no one, to any of their knowledge, knows whether or not Ron is alive.

As Kim went to the girls locker room to change, Bonnie yelled, "Now that, that's out of the way, let's get to work," and turned on the music.

When Kim got home she went straight to her room and flopped face down on her bed.

There was knocked on her door.

"Please go away," Kim said, seriously thinking that she needed a do not disturb sign to hang on her doorknob. "I really don't want to talk to anyone at the moment."

James just opened the door and walked over to her, "Kimmie-cub, I think you need a little cheering up."

"Not now Dad," Kim waved him off. "At this point in time the only thing that would bring any pleasure to me is either bringing a great deal of pain to Dementor or seeing Ron standing in front of me alive."

"As much as I would love to see justice being served, I seriously doubt Ronald would want that," James stated matter-of-factly.

"You're right, I'm just frustrated," Kim admitted. "I mean Ron knocked me out and put me into that escape pod to insure that I survived. I can't help but think that it's my fault."

"Hnn hnn, not your fault," a voice said as a small, pink hairless rodent climbed onto Kims shoulder.

"I agree with Rufus," James told her. "Ronald wanted you to live."

"It's just so hard without him," Kim told him as a tear slid down her eye.

"Now cheer up," James told her. "I came up here to tell you that we've been invited to a dinner, the Stoppables have been as well."

"Where exactly are we going?" Kim asked, glad for the change in subject.

"The house of a colleague of mine," James told her. "You've probably seen at the space center a few times. He never talks when he works nor does he talk about work when he's outside of his house."

"Why is that?" Kim asked.

"He has a serious case of paranoia," James told her as he turned to leave the room.

"Exactly how serious?" Kim asked her curiosity peeked.

"Ron's paranoia about Camp Wannaweep doesn't even come close," James told her.

"Now I think you're blowing this out of proportion," Kim said skeptically.

"Whether or not you believe me doesn't make a difference," James told her as he stepped out of the door. "You'll believe me when you've seen the lifestyle he lives. He might even tell or show you a few of his secrets, eventually, and it's a casual event, so don't overdress," with that he closed the door so Kim could get ready.

Kim just shrugged her shoulders and thought, 'Might as well get ready.'

It was around 8:15 pm when the Possible minivan backed out of the driveway and started towards Zeke's house.

"You know, I haven't seen Ezekiel in quite some time," Anne said out loud. "As unlikely as it seem, I hope he's at least calmed down a bit with his paranoia. It's a shame for someone with such a brilliant mind to have so many issues with the US Government."

"What kind of project would he be doing to hold a grudge like that?" Kim asked, wondering if this was the reason for his paranoia.

"It's not just one project," James told her. "From what he's told us, the US Government has been confiscating nearly every one of his projects since an incident when he was twelve."

"What happened?" Jim said enthusiastically.

"Yeah, this guy must be brilliant to have his projects taken when he was that young," Tim included.

"Hicka-bicka-boo," Jim started.

"Hoosha," Tim finished as they high fived.

"You'll have to ask him when we get there," Anne told them.

The rest of the car ride was in silence.

When James pulled into the driveway, Kim, Jim and Tim could only look in surprise at the size of the house, or mansion in this case.

When James parked the car everyone noticed two cars in the driveway.

"I thought it was just us and Mr. and Mrs. Stoppable who were invited," Kim inquired.

"So did I, but then again he didn't tell me everyone he'd invite," James told them as they walked to the front door. He rang the doorbell and it wasnt long before the door opened to reveal Dr. Vivian Porter.

"Dr. Porter?" Kim asked. "Were you invited to dinner as well?"

"Why would I need to be invited to a dinner which, first off, was my idea and, second off, is at the place I live?" she asked.

"I didn't know you two were back together," Anne said as they walked into the mansion where they heard a great deal of yelling.

"We aren't," Vivian replied. "Sarah needs her mother."

"That aside," Kim said. "Who is that yelling?"

"That would be Zeke and Veronica in one of their legendary arguments," Vivian answered.

"MOM, UNCLE ZEKE, CALM DOWN," a voice very familiar to Kim shouted.

She started running as did everyone else to keep up. Kim knew that voice anywhere, all hopes of seeing her best friend alive were being raised a great deal.

As she finally found the dining room, what she saw made her eyes tear up.

Standing next to a Dark-brown haired man was the one person she wanted to see the most.

"RON!!!" she cried as she ran over and hugged him.

Ron himself just smiled and hugged her back.

When Kim finally finished crying she slapped him right then and there.

"Kim?" Ron asked.

"Don't you ever do anything stupid like that again Ron Stoppable," Kim told him with traces of tears in her eyes.

"RON!!!" Rufus shouted as jumped onto Ron's shoulder and hugged his face.

"It's good to see you too, Rufus," Ron said as he patted Rufus's head.

"Well now this is quite touching, but I really think I should be introducing myself," Zeke said to get everyone attention.

"Sorry about that," Ron said as he took Kim over to his uncle. "Uncle Zeke, this is my best friend Kimberly Anne Possible," he said to Zeke. He then turned to Kim and said, "Kim this is my mother's younger brother, Dr. Ezekiel Ronald Williams."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Kim said holding her hand out.

"The pleasure is all mine," Zeke took her hand and shook it. "Your exploits are legendary."

"Dr. Ezekiel Williams," a voice grabbed everyones attention as a short african-american boy who looked to be about twelve. He ran up to Zeke and pulled out a notebook, "May I have your autograph?"

Zeke just chuckled and pulled a pen out of his pocket, "Sure." He wrote out, 'To my good friend Wade Load. - Ezekiel Ronald Williams'

"Wade, although you being here explains the other car, why exactly are you here?" Kim asked.

"Sorry, Dr. Williams invited my family and me," Wade explained. "That's actually why I brought this autograph book. He's my idol."

"Well thank you," Zeke said. "I'm really quite flattered."

"You idol?" Kim asked. "You're gonna have to explain this to me."

"Ezekiel is actually one of, if not the, greatest scientific minds on the planet," James explained.

"He has a masters in almost three dozen forms of sciences," Wade filled in.

Kims eyes opened wide, "Nearly three dozen!?"

"You surprised?" Zeke asked rhetorically.

"And exactly how old are you?" Kim asked

"Thirty-five this November," Zeke said simply, as if it were no big deal.

'Good lord,' Kim thought to herself. 'And people say _I__'__m_ an overachiever.'

"I was pretty surprised when I first heard about it myself," Ron said.

"And when was that?" Kim asked, thinking it must have been recently.

"About ten years ago," Ron told her, surprising her even more. "I didn't understand what it meant but that didn't mean that I didn't know that it was difficult to get one masters degree."

"You've had those degrees for over ten years!?" Kim exclaimed, her eyes threatenning to pop out of her head. Her thoughts about overachieving ran through her head again.

Jim and Tim were as shocked as she was. After getting over that shock they were on their knees begging their father to let Zeke be their teacher.

"As much as I would love to bask in this glory," Zeke told everyone. "Everyone was invited to dinner, and that's exactly what we're having. Now would you all please take a seat?"

The seating arrangement was as followed. Zeke was seated at the end of the table with Ron to his right and Vivian to his left, Sarah sat in between her mother and Veronica Stoppable while Jeremiah Stoppable sat by his wife and Jim. James sat by Jim with his wife to his left sitting opposite Ezekiel at the other end of the table. Tim sat next to his mother and Maxwell Load while Debra Load sat in between her husband and her son Wade. Dr. Westlake, who is wearing a mask of his sythetic skin, was seated in between Wade and Kim who to the right of Ron.

Zeke tapped his glass with his knife before he started eating, "I'd like to make a toast. To Ronald's survival, and to a, hopefully very soon, full recovery. And don't worry, as much as some of us need it, there is no alcohol within these walls." He got a few chuckles from some people, though others didn't quite understand.

When Zeke looked over to Peyton he was receiving a look that sarcastically said "very funny", to which he replied with his own gaze that said "thanks, I thought so too".

Although Veronica was still angry at her brother she was grateful that Ron was still alive because of him.

"Excuse me," a voice snapped Veronica out of her thoughts. "Who do you think cooks better, Ron or Daddy?"

"You might want to tell me which one is your father," Veronica said, smiling to the child.

"He's sitting next to Ron and Mommy right now," Sarah said, which surprised Veronica a great deal.

"Why don't you tell my your name," Veronica suggested.

"Sarah Williams," Sarah replied cheerfully. "What's your name?"

"I'm your aunty Veronica," she responded. "Now why didn't Ezekiel tell me that he had a daughter."

"He said every time he tried to tell you, you either wouldn't listen or would brush him off," she answered honestly. "Dad also said that every time he tries to make peace you were always taking it the wrong way."

"What kind of garbage is he feeding you?" Veronica said, ticked about how she heard about herself.

"Actually, that sounds pretty accurate Veronica," Jerry said from her left. "Every time you would run into him, you never gave him a second glance. And every time he got within two meters, you would either storm off or tell him to get lost." He paused as he grabbed his chin in a thinking position, "Come to think of it, I remember one time you used profanity so extensively Rabbi Katz nearly fainted."

"You're not helping, Jerry," Veronica said to her husband.

"It would help more than you think if you finally admit that you're not being fair to him," Jerry preached while he ate. "You owe him at least that much after he saved Ronald."

"What's profanity?" she asked.

"What exactly are we eating?" Veronica asked, changing the subject.

"Dad said that he and Ron was making their favorites," Sarah said, noticing the subject change and decided to ask her father later. "He also said that someone named Jeremiah should eat the pizza due to health reasons."

"Is there any form of pig meat in any of the food?" Veronica asked.

"No, Dad and Ron both agreed that conflict would occur less if we ate something that doesn't go against religious beliefs," Sarah told them.

Jerry just chuckled, 'That Zeke, still thinking things through.'

The evening went on with little to no conflict, though Zeke and Veronica got into another sibling quarrel. Everyone, besides the people in question, couldn't decide who was the better cook, they also couldn't figure out who made what. The only one who had an inkling of who made what meal was Kim and that's only because of the essential Ron-ness added to every one of the dishes he prepared. Even with that information she couldn't decide who was better in the kitchen.

"Looks like you have some rivalry in the Culinary Arts department," Kim admitted to Ron. "I didn't think there was anyone who could actually rival you in cooking."

"He says it's because of his abilities with chemistry," Ron told her.

Kim thought about it for a bit and nodded, "That does make sense, cooking is just chemistry that's edible."

"His capabilities for martial arts may also help explain it," Ron thought aloud.

"Martial arts in cooking?" Kim asked. "You're gonna have to explain this one to me."

"Well, some of the moves he's used when preparing are actually very similar to some of the techniques hes been training me with," Ron told her. "The way he palms down onto the bread dough while kneeding it is very similar to quite a few blows he hits me with." Ron rubbed his stomach, remembering the last few training sessions with his uncle. "I think I'd prefer training at Yamanauchi, compared to him, they take it easy with their blows," Ron whispered to her.

"Just how good is he?" Kim asked, remembering a spar with Yori, she can still feel the blows.

"He's mastered about twenty-eight individual martial arts styles, eighteen of them being a form of Kung Fu," Ron told her. "It's one of the main reasons why he's able keep his physique, he does a morning routine before going back to his research, he says it helps keep him prepared," he finished, suprising her to no end.

"The fighting styles aside, why is he training you?" Kim asked. "Isn't he suppose to be helping you recover?"

"It_is_ helping me recover," Ron told her. "By training me through these methods he's making it so my body will be able to react faster and be able to help out in the mission more efficiently. The more I work, the less my body requires rest and the more I'll be able to move more freely."

Kim accepted, seeing the logic in this approach, "How long until you can come back to school, at least?"

"Uncle Zeke has estimated about four to six weeks," Ron told her. "Four being the minimum amount I need to stay here to insure that there's nothing wrong with me. Hey, you could visit as long as it's okay with Uncle Zeke."

"Just wait until I tell Monique," she said, mostly to herself.

Hearing this, Ron told her, "If you tell her, just make sure she keeps it hush hush on who saved me and where I am."

Kim just chuckled, "Is Ron embarrassed about being saved by his uncle."

"Kim, I'm saved by you more than anyone else, and vice versa," Ron told her. "Uncle Zeke is far more paranoid about people searching for him than I am at Camp Wannaweep. These walls are reinforced with lead lined, concrete supported titanium. No form of signal can get through unless Uncle Zeke designed it to be on the signal frequency of his antennae. It's one of the reasons why he never gets a phone call, he calls them. He has to keep to a strict schedule to insure that he doesn't miss anything."

"I thought Dad was exagerating when he described your uncle's paranoia," Kim said as she looked at the walls.

"He was probably putting it lightly," Ron told her.

"Ron, were about to go," Kim said as she noticed her parents and brothers heading to the door. "Call me daily so I can keep up."

"Will do, KP," Ron told her with a salute.

Kim smiled, she missed being called that. She hugged him before she left, to which he hugged back.

"See ya, Ron," she said before she went to her parents.

"Ready to go, Kimmie-cub?" James asked his daughter.

"Yeah, daddy," Kim said as she hugged her father. "And thank you."

"Don't thank me," James told her. "I would have told you sooner, but I've been so busy lately that the thought slipped my mind. Besides, Dr. Porter mentioned earlier that it was her idea."

"Still, thanks for insisting I come," Kim said as they left the building.

"Anything for my Kimmie-cub," James said as he walked to the car.

"Thanks for inviting us over, Dr. Williams," Kim called out.

Zeke just waved, indicating that he heard her. He watched as the three cars pulled out. He looked at Ron, who seemed to be more at ease now and somewhat relieved. He closed the door before he said, "We're going to be starting on your vision mastery tomorrow, be ready."

"What kind of vision enhancements did you include?" Ron asked, clearly curious of what his uncle was thinking.

"Telescopic, heat sensory and x-ray," Zeke told his nephew. "We're really going to be stepping up your physical workout as well, you're still more man than machine. Your organic muscles still dominate your body, so they can get stronger. The support only enhances your strength, which allows you to go beyond 100," Zeke explained sternly. "I want you to be able to say if you went down, it wasn't because you were lazy, it was because whoever you were fighting was stronger."

"Yes, sir," Ron said as he went to bed. "Above and beyond. That will be my second motto from now on."

"Good, now get some sleep," Zeke told him. "The next few weeks are going to seem like the longest in your life."

Hearing this, Ron thought to himself, 'The only way the next few weeks will seem like the longest is if I don't see Kim.'

* * *

To be continued...

Chapter 1 complete. From my perspective, two weeks is long enough, otherwise Kim would most likely do something drastic, like slitting her wrists. I actually know an idiot who slit his wrists. He's still alive, but he's a drug addict. No, I don't do drugs myself, nor do approve of such actions.

I'm not cruel enough to make it so Kim wouldn't know that Ron's alive for too long. That just isn't how I work. I also plan to use some FAH3: 'Secret Identity' references in the near future. Let's see if anyone can figure out which one it is. Anyway R&R and I'm out.


	3. Chapter 2: Back in Action

**Man and Machine**

**Disclaimer: I own neither Kim Possible nor Darkman.**

"Talking"

'Thinking'

_Flashbacks_

_Horror, that__'__s all that can describe it, visions of pure horror. Ever since the day of my parents__'__ death, I__'__ve received such horrific nightmares that I could barely continue my research. I have visions of my big sister looking at me with scorn, blaming me for what happened. I was determined to find out what had happened, my grief just wouldn__'t let me be until I had full closure. What I found both relieved and angered me. My project had been sabotaged to chaotic circumstances. This sabotage said it all, I knew who did this. The man responsible is dead, not by my hand or cause. I can only thank Dr. Westlake for his contribution, both in research and action. The only thing that remains of that day is my sister's resentment and the heavy burn scar I received protecting her. I can only hope that she'll hear what I have to say._

_- Dr. Ezekiel Ronald Williams_

Chapter 2: Back in Action

* * *

A man shot up, awoken in a cold sweat by a nightmare beyond any he could comprehend. This man was Dr. Ezekiel Williams. 'These damned visions still haunt me. What must I do to be able to sleep soundly?' he thought to himself. He looked at the clock and read 4:38 am. He got up and prepared himself for his morning rituals, one being getting Ron up at 5:00 am.

It had been about two and a half weeks since and things had been going pretty smoothly.

Ron had near perfect mastery over his vision enhancements, though he still had a problem with alternating from thermal to normal vision, mostly this ended up with him switching to x-ray instead of normal. He's been working harder to fix this problem.

Nothing much has happened. Kim would came over twice telling them she and Ron had a mission, through which Ron reluctantly declined going, saying that although he would like to go, he wouldn't be of much use when still recovering.

_Flashback_

_There was a knock on the door and when Ron opened it he was surprised to see Kim in full mission gear._

"_Ron, there was a hit on the site," Kim told him. "Apparently Drakken is looking for information, and we both know who the best person to get that is."_

"_Sorry, Kim," Ron told her as he looked downward. "As much as I would love to help out I would only be a burden. Uncle Zeke hasn't give me full approval, and if anyone knows how my body works at this point in time, it's him."_

"_Alright," Kim said, disappointed. It wasn't so much of disappointment in Ron as it was in herself. She keeps reminding herself that hes only in this condition because he was saving her. __'If only we hadn__'t gone on that mission. We got lucky this time, but how long will our last, how long will it be until I'm reading the eulogy at Ron's fun...' she couldn't finish her thought._

"_Dont worry, KP," Ron reassured her. "It's only until Uncle Zeke tells me I'm in good enough condition to at least walk in public and not cause panic." Which was more true that Ron realized, because without the training and with his physical capabilities he'd more than likely hurt someone._

"_Just get well soon," Kim said as she hugged him._

"_Will do, KP," Ron told her as he hugged back._

"_Ugh, dont remind me of him," Kim said, to which they both started laughing._

_End of Flashback_

Zeke had been monitoring them and was glad Ron decided to stay, he knew how much of a danger his nephew could be in public.

After a shower, Zeke walked over to Ron's room. He opened the door to see Ron waking up himself.

"Well this is a surprise," Zeke said, mostly to himself, though Ron heard him. "Rough night?"

"I still can't help but think I let Kim down by not going on that mission two days back," Ron admitted. "Drakken got away, and we have no idea what he's up to."

"Well, this may liven your morning," Zeke told him. "James is nearly finished with development of the Haphaestus project, meaning your upgrade will be soon."

"How much longer?" Ron asked. The sooner he got upgraded, the sooner hed be able to get use to the system.

"I'm not sure, but it's about ninety-eight percent complete," Zeke told Ron.

Ron himself got up and stretched to get the stiffness out of his muscles. He still seemed to be down about that information.

"How about I set up a few terms," Zeke said, catching Ron's interest. "You can go on the next mission and we'll quintuple the current training regiment after you've gained the Haphaestus upgrade."

Ron shuddered at the thought, quintupling would mean it would be ten times the original, 'Are missions with Kim truly worth this much hardship?' Ron looked at a picture of Kim on his nightstand, and thought, 'Oh yeah, I'd face the world any moment if it meant I could keep her safe.'

"You've got yourself a deal," Ron said as he held out his hand.

Zeke took the hand and shook it, sealing the deal.

"Now let's get some food before we start our morning exercises," Zeke told him.

"May I at least have a shower?" Ron asked annoyed.

Zeke just laughed before answering, "Of course."

That afternoon, Ron had been expecting Kim to be visiting. While he was waiting he decided to get a bit more with his vision, under his uncles supervision of course. He was still trying to figure out how to switch directly from infrared to normal. At the moment his visual setting was on infrared.

The doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," Zeke told Ron. "You just set your vision back to normal."

Kim and a tall, tan skinned young man were walking along the walkway towards the front door of Zekes house.

"This is where your friends house?" the guy asked. "His family must be doing well for themselves."

"Actually, Erik, this is his uncle's house," Kim explained. "He's been and will keep living here until his uncle deems him well enough to go back home."

"I hope I'm not intruding, coming with you unannounced," Erik said to her with concern on his face.

"It's no big, I'm sure they'll like you," Kim reassured him as she rang the doorbell.

As the door openned they were greeted with the sight of Zeke. They then heard a loud thump and looked to see Ron unsconscious on the floor.

Zeke just sighed as Kim ran over to see if Ron was alright.

"Move please," Zeke said as he put his index and middle finger at Ron's neck to check his pulse, it was faster than normal. He noticed that Ron had a faint grin and a bit of red on his cheeks, 'Apparently his vision problem caught up to him. Geez, it _looks_ like he passed out while drunk.' He sighed again, "He'll be fine, it looks like he overexerted himself in training today and passed out from being excited to see you." 'Apparently overexcited,' he thought to himself as noticed a disfigurement from his normal bodily structure. He picked Ron up and brought him over to the couch. Zeke then noticed Erik and asked, "And you are?"

"Oh, sorry," Erik said. He reached his hand out, "Erik Drake. Sorry if I'm intruding on this visit."

Zeke took his hand with one thought in his head, to which he had no problem with vocalizing, "I dont trust you."

"Okay," Erik stated.

"Dr. Williams, is it okay if he's here while I visit?" Kim asked.

"I have no problem, as long as he keeps his hand to himself," Zeke said, not trying to hide the disdain in his voice. "My cameras will be watching," and with that he walked to his lab to conduct more research. He pulled a remote out of his pocket and pressed a button, 'Can't have him fainting again because of another eyeful.'

"Apparently your judgment of Dr. Williams was off by one hundred eighty degrees," Erik remarked as he watched Zeke walk away. "I hope he isn't so reluctant about trust," he finished indicating Ron.

"Ron's a good guy, he'll, at least, give you a chance," Kim said as Ron started coming to.

"Ugh," Ron groaned as he regained consciousness.

"Ron," Kim said, voice full of concern. "Just take it easy."

"KP?" Ron asked. "What happened?"

"You passed out from overexersion," Erik filled in. "Apparently your excitement for seeing Kim push you over the edge of consciousness."

"And you are?" Ron asked with full curiosity, there was something about him that he didnt trust.

"Erik Drake," Erik answered back. "May I sit down?" he asked, indicating the couch Ron was laying on.

"Oh, sure," Ron said as he sat up.

They were seated with Kim in the middle. They were conversing and laughing, mostly Kim and Erik.

When it was time to leave Erik walked over to his motorcycle as Kim talked with Ron.

"So what do you think about him?" she asked for his opinion.

"Do you want my honest opinion?" Ron asked her.

"Please and thank you," Kim answered.

"I can tolerate him at best," Ron admitted to her. "There's just something about him that rubs me the wrong way."

"Your uncle feels the same way, except he has no qualms about hiding it from anyone," Kim told him.

"Well, glad to see we have some common ground other than cooking, even if it_is_ negative," Ron said to her. "KP, as long as he makes you happy, I'm fine with him."

Kim hugged Ron, "Thanks, Ron. You're the best."

"Sure, KP," he said as he hugged her back. "Later."

"Later, Ron," she said as she let go of Ron and went to Erik's motorcycle.

Ron watched as they rode off from the driveway before he stepped inside. His thoughts were keeping him occupied as he unconsciously moved through the mansion, 'Something about hims just doesn't seem right to me, apparently uncle Zeke saw it too. If Erik hurts her, so help me...' he continued these thoughts as he found himself in the lab standing right behind his uncle.

"It looks like you have some competition," Zeke said, snapping Ron out of his train of thought. Zeke was seated in front of his main terminal. "Though something about him doesn't seem right," he admitted. "It's times like this that I wish I'd put x-ray features in my surveillance cameras." A thought occured to him, "Hey Ron."

"Yeah?" Ron asked.

"Do you mind if I install optical cameras within your system?" he asked. "Of course, this will be during the Hapheastus upgrade, and only you and whoever you connect to will be able to record and view any form of your recordings."

"Sure," Ron answered. "It might be able to help with investigations."

"Very good," Zeke told him. "And while we're on the subject, we really need to figure out why you have such a problem with alternating from infrared to normal vision. I certainly don't think it would be a good idea for you to faint at a bad time."

Ron blushed when he thought about why he fainted, "Yeah, don't want accidents like that to happen again." 'No matter how enjoyable of an experience it was.'

"Get your thoughts out of the gutter," Zeke told him as he picked up the phone. "James, it's Zeke," Zeke said into the receiver. "How far along are you?" he asked, all business. After a few seconds, "Nice, I'll be online in a few seconds, just transfer the data to my terminal." After a few more seconds, "Ron's just fine, though he's still having a few visual problem, and no I'll not go into detail or explain briefly." And finally, "Sure, just be careful when testing, you never know who might want your research. See ya." And he put the phone back on the hook.

"So how far is he?" Ron asked.

"99.9, James just needs to test to see if he has a success. He's testing the research tonight so he'll be working late," Zeke explained to his nephew. "The data will be completely transferred over in a few seconds and I'll be testing it myself."

"So if this works..." Ron started.

"The Haphaestus upgrade will be within twenty-four hours of the documented success," Zeke finished for him. He then turned his attention to the screen as he waited for the data.

The computer then spoke, 'Data transfer complete.'

"Very nice," Zeke said as he put his glasses on and started looking through the information, taking in everything at his own pace. When he was finished reading the data he pushed a button on the terminal, "Dr. Westlake, would you please come down here?"

"Certainly," Peyton said through the intercom.

After a few minutes the elevator doors openned and Dr. Westlake stepped out.

"What is it you need me for, Dr. Williams?" Peyton said as he walked over to the owner of the lab.

"Project Cyborg is nearly complete," Zeke told the chemist. "James has just tranferred the data of the Haphaestus Project. I'll be testing the data tonight to see if it was successful. If the data is one hundred percent successful Ron here will be undergoing his final surgical upgrade within twenty-four hours of the test."

"Surgical upgrade?" Ron asked. "Are there any other forms of upgrading that will be needed?"

"Just one," Zeke told him. "This upgrade is the main reason Dr. Westlake is here."

"Do tell," Peyton said with complete interest.

"I've been researching and theorizing the development of a form of protective skin that will absorb and reemit kinetic and thermal energy," Zeke explained to them.

"Say what?" Ron asked.

"Basically, the compound can throw back any form of thermal and kinetic energy," Dr. Westlake tried to simplify.

"I still don't understand," Ron admitted.

"It's like giving an opponent back the energy of a physical blow they threw at you," Zeke said. "In this case, the person can not only use physical blows, but heat as well."

"So basically, the person can throw back what was thrown at them all at once if heat and shockwaves are used," Ron said. "Why exactly do I need this?"

"The metals in your body are not impervious to heavy blows or high concentrations of heat," Zeke explained to both of them. "The reason for this is because I couldn't use metals that were strong and still make them undetectable short of an x-ray."

"Basically, the metals can carry an electric current without being magnetic," Peyton finished. "I read the blueprints and it appears as though his feet carry some form of magnetic current. How is this possible?"

"The feet are electromagnets and can only be attracted or repelled by magnets or magnetic metal when there is an electric current running through them," Zeke explained. "I'll be teaching Ron how to use that feature as soon as I activate it."

"So this protective skin will replace my synthetic skin?" Dr. Westlake asked curiously.

"In a way," Zeke answered. "I've already finished the equasion for the substance that will be absobing the thermal energy. Middleton's Institute of Science and Technology has perfected a substance that absorbs and reemits kinetic energy. Your synthetic skin will give it the normal look. I just need assistance in creating the equasion that will bind these three compounds into one."

"Very interesting," Peyton said. "When do we start working?"

"As soon as synthesis and proper testing of the thermal absorbtion compound has been completed," Zeke informed him. He then started typing into his computer, "Veronica, how long until Ultimate Sunscreen is finished synthesizing."

"Thirty-nine hours and seventeen minutes," the computer vocalized.

"Nice name," Ron remarked.

"I agree, very interesting," Peyton nodded.

"That's basically what this compound is," Zeke shrugged. "It's a better name than Heat Redirection."

The two just nodded in agreement.

"You two might want to find something to occupy your time while I'm testing the Hapheastus project," Zeke told them as he started working.

"Sure thing uncle Zeke," Ron said as he walked to the elevator, destination, his room. He really needed to perfect alternating from infrared to normal.

"Oh, one thing, Dr. Westlake," Zeke said as he pushed a few buttons. A door opened from the floor and a pedestal with a vial of blue liquid on top of it rose through the door. "Do you recognize this substance?"

Peyton observed the vial for a bit and said, "Yes, this is the strength enhancement syrum that was made from my DNA. How did you come across this?"

"I copied this research alongside yours," Zeke explained as he was working. "It was through this and a clever little device made by HenchCo. that I was able to properly develop the strength enhancers in Ron's body."

"So why are you showing me this?" Peyton asked.

"Simple, I'm going to deliver what was initially promised to you," Zeke told him. "After all of these years your nervous system will finally be reconnected to your brain."

"I'm sure you will understand that I'm skeptical," Dr. Westlake admitted. "The last time I was promised this, I was used to make that syrum and my research was almost lost."

"Don't worry," Zeke reassured the fellow doctor. "The surgical procedure will occur only after the skin compound has been completed, that way both of us will have what we need when everything is through."

"How will you perform the procedure?" Peyton asked, clearly curious of the methods.

"The procedure will not be done by my hand," Zeke told him. "I have a set of nanites that need only to be programmed and they will do the procedure. Mind you, this is only experimental, but I promise that you will not die," Zeke stopped work, walked to the fellow doctor and held out his hand. "Do we have an accord?"

"We do," Dr. Westlake said as he shook the hand, sealing the deal. "I'll hold you to your word, Dr. Williams."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Zeke smirked as he let go and went back to work.

Dr. Westlake walked into the elevator and decided to go out for a bit.

While he was walking he noticed a Bueno Nacho and went to get something to eat. When he walked in and noticed a man with a pair of glasses and a tall muscular man with no hair.

"Welcome to Bueno Nacho," the man in glasses greeted. "My name is Ned, how may I help you?"

"Is it customary to say your name?" Peyton asked.

"Not really, but I figured it's a good way to be polite," Ned replied as he relaxed to this customer.

"Fair enough," Peyton said. "I'll have a Naco combo, grande size."

"Would you like some Diablo Sauce?" Ned asked.

"Sure," Dr. Westlake answered. He figured he could do some tests with it later.

"Will that be all?" Ned asked.

Peyton just nodded. He got his food and walked to a booth.

"Have a Muy Bueno day," Ned said.

"You too," Dr. Westlake replied.

After he finished eating he was walking out and noticed a sign saying, 'Coming soon, Little Diablos.'

"If this is coming soon then I may have to find another place to eat," he said to himself.

As he was walking he noticed he was being followed, but played ignorant. He led them into a dead end alley.

The people following him walked into the alley and noticed him facing them.

"What do you want?" Dr. Westlake asked.

"We saw you pay with that fifty back at Bueno Nacho," one of the thugs said.

"Give us all your money," another said.

It was eight to one, now under normal circumstances that would be a disadvantage to the one, but this wasn't normal circumstances. Especially if the one didn't have the ability to feel physical pain.

"I'll give you guys one chance to leave me alone," Dr. Westlake warned them. "After that, I can't be held responsible for any injuries you receive."

The thugs just laughed.

"Will you look at this guy," one of them said. "Trying to act all tough."

"I think it'll be you that'll be recieving injuries," another said.

"I warned you," Peyton said as he was rushed by three of them.

Dr. Westlake slammed all three of them into the wall on his left. The other five just looked in awe. Then all five of them ran straight towards. He dealt with them easily and the last one he held in the air by his throat.

"Wh-who are you?" he asked as he was losing consciousness.

"I am no one to be trifled with," he answered.

The thug glared at him before he lost consciousness.

Dr. Westlake dropped the thug before leaving the alley and headed back towards Zeke's house. He'd had enough fun for today.

When he reached the house it was already dark. When he walked in he noticed Kim sitting on one of the couches.

"Is there a reason why you're here, Ms. Possible?" Peyton asked.

"It's Drakken," Kim said worriedly. "He's got my dad."

"Lipsky?" Dr. Westlake asked, to which Kim nodded. "I remember reading an article about how you thwarted him in an attempt to take over Canada. He certainly is a die hard."

"I have to agree with you there," Kim said with annoyance in her voice. "What will it take to get Drakken to figure out that he can't beat us."

"I have no idea," said a voice in the doorway to the hall. "We'd better get going if we want to save Mr. Dr. P."

"It's good to have you back in action Ron," Kim said as he walked to her.

"I'll provide transport this time," Zeke said. "I have a chopper that I've been dieing to use."

"Who'll pilot it?" Kim asked.

"I said I've been dieing to use it," Zeke told her. "It's actually a helicopter that I built and tested but never got to put it in action."

"If it gets us there faster then let's go," Kim said.

"Follow me," Zeke told them as he walked down the hallway.

Kim shrugged and followed alongside Ron. They went through the necessary procedures which surprised Kim at the security and efficiency. When the wall openned, her eyes widenned.

Zeke and Ron stepped into the elevator, and noticed Kim still frozen in place.

"Are you coming?" Ron asked, snapping Kim out of her daze.

"Oh," she said as she walked into the elevator. "Sorry."

"Which floor are you going to, Dr. Williams?" Veronica asked.

"The hangar, Veronica," Zeke told his computer.

"Right away, Dr. Williams," and the elevator started moving.

When the doors openned Kim and Ron were both surprised at the many different aircrafts.

"I understand the house but how..." Kim asked.

"My research is funded by many private companies," Zeke told her as he walked over to the helicopter that he mentioned. "The bulk of the funding, however, is provided by Global Justice."

"You never mentioned that," Ron said while following.

"It never came up," Zeke said as he shrugged as he climbed in the chopper.

Kim and Ron followed.

Zeke pulled another remote from his pocket and pushed a button. This started a conveyor belt that moved it towards the center of the hangar. "Strap in," he said simply as he started the engine.

The two passengers complied as the conveyor belt came to a complete stop.

Zeke pressed another button on his remote and the ceiling openned up. He raised the helicopter and took off in the direction of Drakken's current lab.

"So who kidnapped James?" Zeke asked to pass the time.

"Drakken," Kim said with malice.

"Lipsky?" Zeke asked. "Probably after the Haphaestus project that James was developing. You know, I told James to be careful."

"You mean you know Drakken's angle?" Kim asked.

"No clue," Zeke told her. "I just know what the Haphaestus project does."

"So what does it do?" Ron asked, if he was going to be upgraded with this he may as well know what is does.

"It's a form of living metal," Zeke explained. "The metal can heal and advance itself as long as it has a command signal."

"The the project works?" Ron asked.

"Yes," Zeke told them. "The data and the test all say that the project was a complete success."

"So we know one of the weapons Drakken got his hands on," Kim said. "We just need to know how he'll use it."

"Can't help you there?" Zeke told her. "Though I'll give you three guesses on how he knew what James was working on, and the first two don't count."

It only took Kim a second to figure out how, "Big Daddy Brotherson."

It took about thirty minutes to reach the island Dr. James Possible was being held.

"I doubt Lipsky is here," Zeke voiced his thoughts. "He probably has a brain tap machine that removed all of the data from James's head and uploaded it onto one of his terminals."

"What makes you say that?" Ron asked.

"Because Dad has a photographic memory and would most likely delete all of the data from his computer to keep it out of the wrong hands," Kim told him.

"And Drakken doesn't know that uncle Zeke has a full copy of Mr. Dr. P's data," Ron thought out loud. "So getting the data from his head would be the only option he had."

"It wouldn't make a difference if he knew I had a copy anyway," Zeke told them. "He wouldn't dare meddle with any affairs I'm directly involved in, he's an idiot, but he's not that stupid."

"You're saying that Drakken's afraid of you?" Kim asked.

"And with good reason," Ron said informatively. "I'd rather take a hit from Shego than the ones I receive from uncle Zeke, plasma and all."

"I'll keep a mind not to get on your bad side," Kim said warily.

"Now the plan will be as followed," Zeke told them as he landed the helicopter on the shore. "Ron will take out the synthodrones and any other traps laid out while Kim gets her father."

"You sure you can handle this Ron?" Kim asked with concern on her face.

"It's what uncle Zeke has been training me for," Ron told her. "If I can't handle myself now, then I shouldn't have ever gone on these missions in the first place."

"Don't say that, Ron," Kim told him. "I could never have succeeded in our missions without you."

"Digressing," Zeke told them. "Reminisce after James is safe. I'll be waiting here."

"Sure," Ron told him, knowing that if anyone attacked him, they'd be in serious trouble.

When they snuck in Kim said, "I hope Dr. Williams will be okay."

"You're not gonna be convinced unless you fight him yourself, are you?" Ron asked, annoyed about Kim's skepticism. "For the last time, the voice of experience says that anyone who attempts to attack him should be pitied."

"But seriously, Ron," Kim told him as they crawled through the ventilation. "You'd rather take Shego's blows, plasma and all."

"I'm not kidding, and I've been hit by one of Shego's plasma punches," Ron said while following her. "You compare that to one of uncle Zeke's blows and Shego's attacks start looking like a mild sunburn." Ron paused and then added, "I mean if he wasn't so pacifistic, you and I would probably be out of business."

"Now you're confusing me," Kim told him. "Do you even know the definition of pacifist?"

"Sure, a person who doesn't like violence or killing," Ron told her. "Uncle Zeke was skeptical about my knowledge of some words as well."

"Well, your GPA and word usage don't exactly scream genius," Kim told him as she opened one of the vents and jumped out.

"A person's GPA doesn't measure a their intelligence, just their determination to do well," Ron lectured as he followed out of the ventilation shaft. "And how a person speaks does not necessarily reflect their intelligence either, just look at Motor Ed."

"Point taken," Kim said as she turned around. She then saw her father hanging over a tank of water, blindfolded. This seriously worried her given that she had no clue what was in the tank. She turned around and asked, "Ron, what kind of equipment do you have?"

"Just a set of shuriken and a pair of Kukri knives," he told her as he showed her a pouch of shuriken strapped to his leg and a pair of curved knives strapped to the back of his waste.

Just then the intruder alert sounded, giving away the element of surprise.

"We both know the plan, so let's go," Kim said as she headed towards her father.

Ron noticed a laser aiming at her, and instead of warning her he threw a shuriken at it and hit its power cord. He saw three more and did the same to them.

Some synthodrones had been dispatched at this point in time and were attempting to surround Ron.

Ron wouldn't have this and took three shuriken in each hand, each between his fingers and threw them, to which all six of them hit their marks of six different synthodrones. Fourteen more of them were trying to surround him. Since he was out of shuriken he took his Kukri knives from out of their scabbards and twirled them around his fingers before going to work. He slashed and hit four of them on his first pass, another six on his second and decided to have some fun with these last four.

Meanwhile Kim had just reached the tank when Ron took out the other three lasers. She dove in and quickly dealt with the squid before getting her father down and out of the tank. When she took the blindfold off James wasn't looking at her.

"Looks like Ezekiel knows what he's doing," James observed as he and Kim saw Ron play with the last four synthdrones before dispatching quickly.

"I'll say," Kim saw, amazed at the skill Ron displayed just now. She knew Ron had potential, but what she didn't know was how far he could go. If this was just a taste of what Ron is capable of then their missions may end up going a whole lot smoother in the near future.

"Like the display?" Ron asked rhetorically as he put his Kukri knives away. "Since the other sixteen were done I figured I could play around."

"You were playing with them?" Kim asked incredulously.

"You compare this to uncle Zeke's training and that's exactly what this is," Ron told her. Ron saw James and asked, "Mr. Dr. P, what's the last thing you remember?"

"I remember hanging up the phone after was mentioned and that's it," James told him.

"Looks like uncle Zeke was right," Ron said as he started looking for an exit. "Definate signs of brain tapping."

"Let's just go home," Kim said as she started looking as well.

The three walked outside towards the helicopter and they noticed a few people laying on the sand, either unconscious or on the verge of it.

"Mercy," one of them muttered before losing consciousness.

"Apparently you weren't exagerating," Kim said to her best friend as they walked towards the helicopter to see a bored looking Zeke just sitting in the doorway. "I thought Ron said you were a pacifist."

"I am, they attacked me and I didn't kill them," Zeke said with a bored tone. "You'd think that Lipsky would at least get them to be decently trained, I was bored thoughout the entire situation combat."

"Uhhh," Kim didn't know how to respond to that.

"Let's just get going," Zeke told them. "The longer we take, the more likely Vivian will get take out."

"She doesn't cook?" Kim asked.

"No matter how good she is in the lab, it doesn't reflect in the kitchen," Zeke told them as he started the chopper. "You'll be by me James, I need a co-pilot with the extra weight."

"No problem," James said as he strapped himself in the passenger seat up front and put on the helmet. "Rockets are..." he started.

"Don't finish that phrase or you're walking," Zeke told him. "You know that I've never been a fan of Captain Constellation."

"Sorry," James said.

"I'm starting to see another side of your uncle that I like," Kim said as she saw the scene play out.

* * *

To be continued...

Still a little hazy on a few of the names of the compounds, more specifically the compound that James demonstrated when he was showing Kim the college he went to in 'Clothes Minded'. Until I receive a review stating the name or I find out on my own it will remain as such. Read and Review. And a happy White Day and Pi Day to all.


	4. Chapter 3: Back to School

**Man and Machine**

**Disclaimer: I own neither Kim Possible nor Darkman.**

And I was not thinking about Teen Titans' Cyborg when I first thought up this fic.

"Talking"

'Thinking'

_Flashbacks_

_Dad is a man beyond comparison and normal comprehension. He__'s always told me that trust is something should never be given out freely and the only ones deserving of it are those who know what it means to work to gain it. He knows more about pain and loss than anyone I__'ve__ ever seen. Dad also knows the meaning of working to achieve something beyond what was thought possible. He__'s always worked hard in getting what he knew he wanted. I once asked him why he created me and he answered that he wanted to know what it was like to be a father, to have a full time job, taking care of a child, and to be able to say how proud he was when he knew that every bit of my personality, positive and negative, was a result of his parenting. This only makes me want to be the perfect child for my perfect parents. I see pride in his eyes when he sees Ron alive, knowing that he was able to save a life through his methods of science, this pride is similar to when he looks at me. I just wish that I could see any hint of happiness within his eyes. He always shows so many different emotions, but as far back as I can remember, he's never been truly happy. I only wish that I knew what would make dad happy so I could give it to him._

_- Sarah Veronica Williams_

Chapter 3: Back to School

* * *

Ron was spacing out, he's been like this for nearly a week, since he met Erik. He'd been enduring the necessary training because it got his mind focused, because anyone fighting against someone with his uncle's skills had better better keep their focus. It kept his mind off of the emptiness that he'd been feeling since that day. He looked to his pet and asked, "Rufus, do you think I'd have been able to be with Kim? I mean if Erik didn't step in."

Rufus just shrugged.

"There's something about him, though," Ron told him. "Almost like I missed something when we first met. Do you think I'm a bad person for not trusting someone without knowing them?"

"Uh uh," Rufus shook his head.

"It was only recently that I noticed these feelings I have for Kim," Ron said, just a little relieved that he could tell someone. "No matter how long something exists, the existance, itself, doesn't matter if it isn't discovered in time," Ron sighed as he lay on his bed. "And it was only when Dementor's lab exploded, and I felt I would die, that I knew what I felt," he closed his eyes before turning to the naked mole rat. "I'm in love with Kim and I'm too much of a coward to tell her. I probably have been for some time."

Rufus patted Ron on the back.

"As much as I appreciate the effort in trying to cheer me up, I'm really gonna need some time alone," Ron told him as he sat on the bed. Ron seriously needed this time alone to get his thoughts together and figure out what to do.

Rufus walked out of the room and closed the door behind him.

A few hours later, the door opened to reveal Zeke.

"Oh wise man," Ron said as he noticed his uncle walking into the room. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"It seems to me that you need advice, I may not be in public as often as you, but that doesn't mean that I can't give words of wisdom," he told his nephew. "From what I've been observing, you're having a hard time with the situation between Kim and Erik," Zeke said knowingly.

"Have you ever felt like something within your reach seems so unattainable?" Ron asked cryptically. He figured his uncle would have had to at least know something like this.

"Yes, I'm still trying to grasp it," Zeke admitted.

"So what do I do?" he asked.

"In the end, all I can say is that you need to be honest with her and yourself," Zeke told him wisely. "It's probably best to do something or you might just live the rest of your life regretting and thinking about what could have been."

"So what are you so desperate to grasp?" Ron asked his uncle.

"My freedom," Zeke told him. "You know my basic life story, but what you don't know is that I'm not truly free. I'm basically under house arrest until the corruption that put me here is taken care of."

Ron, not wanting to push the subject, let it go, "Do you think I'm a bad person for not trusting Erik?"

"It's not so much of not trusting itself as it is not trusting for the wrong reasons that would make you a bad person," Zeke told his nephew. "I, as you know, don't trust him, and one of the reasons is because of his behavior. He's far too polite, in my opinion, like he's trying to get close to someone."

"It's not his attitude, there was just something about him when I first saw him," Ron admitted. "It's like there's something there, I just can't seem to figure out what."

"When you first saw him, I think your focus was on something else," Zeke joked, remembering the incident. "At that point in time you had better be glad I had a remote to your systems or you probably would have fainted right after you woke up."

Ron was blushing while chuckling nervously, "Eheheh, yeah."

"Another reason is that he seems too perfect," Zeke said. "You know what I mean?"

"Not really," Ron admitted.

"How did he react when he first saw Rufus?" Zeke asked.

"Like he was envious, he said that he'd always wanted a naked mole rat as a pet," Ron answered while thinking about it.

"Don't you find that the least bit odd?" Zeke told him. "I haven't heard of one teenager that wanted a naked mole rat as a pet."

"Hey!" Rufus said from the door as he came in.

"Sorry, Rufus, no offense intended," Zeke told the hairless rodent. "All I'm saying is that it wasn't your never be normal attitude that insured your friendship with Rufus, it was your father's allergies. And, from what you've told me, your closest friends, even if they did give Rufus a chance, were skeptical at first."

"You have such unbelievably reasonable logic that sometimes I wonder what would happen if you were wrong," Ron told his uncle jokingly.

"Although it's been a while, I have been wrong before," Zeke told him. "And, think about it this way, how well is he hitting it off with Kim?"

"Very well, actually," Ron said as he was starting to look down. "She described their meeting as magic."

"And wasn't Kim one of the most skeptical about having Rufus as a pet?" Zeke asked cryptically.

"You're right, she was," Ron said as he started to put a few pieces together. "So you're saying that I should warn Kim about these suspicions?"

"What I'm saying is that you should keep your eyes open," Zeke replied warningly. "Keep yourself well guarded while making it seem like you're at least comfortable around him. You have to make sure that he's not suspicious about your suspicion of him. My suspicions could be explained through my paranoia."

"Unbelievable!" Ron exclaimed. "People think my paranoia is weird while they accept yours."

"I've had several years to work to gain the respect I have from the science community," Zeke explained. "And my paranoia has been proven to hold water behind it," he interjected. "Well, you'd best prepare yourself," Zeke told him. "Because tomorrow will be a big day."

"And why is that?" Ron asked, not thinking with complete clarity.

"Well, in my professional opinion, I believe that you've recovered enough," Zeke answered. "You'll be returning to school."

"Booyah," Ron shot his fist into the air.

"Booyah," Rufus copied.

"I have a few rules you need to follow though," Zeke told him, in complete seriousness.

"Go ahead," Ron said.

"Rule No. 1, no using any of your enhancements, unless the situation is life or death, and, even then, use them only as a last resort," Zeke explained.

"Obviously," Ron said as he rolled his eyes.

"Rule No. 2, no showing off," Zeke eyed him. "We can't have people wondering how you gained your fighting skills or physique."

"Well there goes flirting," Ron said sarcastically.

"Which leads me to Rule No. 3, don't smart off too much," Zeke told him. "We can't have you getting into trouble for a smart mouth. And keep your profanity down. There's no need to let everyone know just how advanced of a vocabulary you have."

"Is that it?" Ron asked.

"This final one isn't a rule," Zeke told Ron honestly. "If someone crosses the line, and you'll know when that happens, rules 2 and 3 can be null and void if you wish. I won't hold them against you if that happens."

"Got it, and I'll follow as best as I can," Ron said to his uncle.

"I'm not finished. Rule 1 is an everywhere that's not here rule," Zeke said. "Rules 2 and 3 can be ignored ouside of school, but it's not recommended."

"I'll take that to heart," Ron told him with complete sincerity.

The next day Ron was riding to school on what looked like a motorcycle that was tricked out to the point where Motor Ed would be jealous. It had a blue, silver and gold coloring with black streaks and looked to be made for a combination of speed, style and stunts. The helmet he was wearing had a matching color of the bike with pictures of gears and circuitry on it. The license plate simply read 'CYB0RG' Ron himself was wearing a leather biking jacket to keep his injuries to a minimum, he was wearing his trademark cargo pants except Rufus wasn't in his pocket, he was in the storage compartment in the back to better insure his safety. The bike was fast, and if it reached its top speed, things had a tendency to go flying off.

'I gotta hand it to uncle Zeke,' Ron thought as he rode. 'He certainly knows how to trick out a ride, and with style too.'

Needless to say, Ron was drawing attention to himself.

So many people were wondering who was driving such a nice ride. The rider in question, looked like he knew what he was doing, he was handling every twist and turn with ease. An african-american junior noticed this and went straight to her closest friend.

Kim was getting her books out of her locker with Erik by her when Monique ran straight to her.

"Girl, you have got to see this," Monique exclaimed wildly.

"And what, exactly do I have to see?" Kim asked with her textbooks in hand.

"We got ourselves a serious rider out there," Monique told her. "The guy hugs every turn like an X-games motocross pro. And the bike he's got has serious style of designs and color and doesn't look like it was cheap."

Kim decided to humor her friend and followed Monique to the parking lot where the mystery rider. "Later, Erik."

"Right," Erik responded.

Ron had to ride around for a bit until he could find a space to park his bike. When he dismounted his mad machine, he was surprised when he noticed that a crowd had gathered clearly curious about his identity.

'What's with them?' Ron thought as he opened the storage compartment and put Rufus into his pocket before anyone could see him. 'They act like they haven't seen someone ride to school before,' he thought as he placed a tarp over the bike.

Kim saw the mystery rider walking away with the crowd following him.

"Hey, KP," he said, though his voice was muffled. He turned to Monique, "Monique."

"Ron?" they both asked, recognizing his voice.

"Yeah?" Ron asked.

"People are staring," Kim informed him.

"Why is that?" Ron asked, clueless to the obvious.

"Maybe because you're still wearing your helmet," Monique answered.

"Huh," Ron said as he started to feel around his head. "Oh, right," and he took it off to reveal the messy hair, hazel eyes, big ears and freckled face of one Ron Stoppable. "Props to uncle Zeke for the helmet, it's comfortable enough to forget you're wearing it."

Everyone looked shocked to see Ron back, most actually believed him to be dead. The bell was about to ring so the questions to him would wait.

When the crowd cleared Kim asked while she and Monique were walking with Ron, "So what happened to your scooter?"

"Uncle Zeke did an extreme trick out on it," Ron said matter-of-factly. "He had some spare parts that were just gathering dust, so he decided that my ride could use a tune up and a new look. And I will say right now that his upgrades were badical."

"Your uncle aside," Monique said. "Where on earth did you learn to ride like that?"

"You wouldn't believe what kind of time you have on your hands after the physical therapy and tutoring," Ron answered. "I've had about five weeks with a lot of free time, I couldn't leave the premises so I decided to occupy my time."

Monique was more surprised about Ron's word usage than she was about how constuctive he was using his time. "Just how well- rounded is your vocabulary?" she asked.

"Uncle Zeke was also surprised that I could use words in context as well," Ron said to her. "I just happen to know how to use a few words in the English language. Though Uncle Zeke did specify that I shouldn't use any form of grammar enhancers."

"What kind?" Kim asked.

"The vulgar kind," Ron answered as he openned his locker and put his helmet and jacket into it and got his books. "Basically, I am not to use any form of profanity during school hours."

"Sounds like this guy is a little too old fashioned," Monique voiced her opinion.

"I think this is just to keep Ron out of trouble," Kim said. "Ron gets detention pretty frequently and I think this is to break that habit."

"Let's just get to class," Ron said. "I'd rather not get detention on my first day back. That and I want to see the look on Barkin's face."

"Don't we all," Kim said as they rushed to their class.

They made it just before the bell rang.

Assistant Principal Barkin was taking role.

"Possible."

"Here."

"Renton."

"Here."

"Rockwaller."

"Ugh, Here."

"Stoppable."

"Here."

"Huh?" Steve Barkin looked up and noticed that Ron Stoppable was indeed there this day. "Glad you were only MIA. Good to have you back."

"Good to be back," Ron answered back.

For the duration of the class period, Ron couldn't help but notice that people were giving him odd looks.

'Probably wondering how I'm still in one piece,' Ron thought to himself. 'Be it from the lab explosion or the Kim explosion, I'd rather take the former.'

When the rang, Barkin called out, "Stoppable."

"What did I do this time?" Ron asked as he walked over to his teacher.

"It's not that, I was sent an e-mail this morning about the school assignments you missed," Barkin told him. "Do you have the work?"

"Oh, yeah," Ron reached into his binder and pulled out the work he'd missed while recovering. "That should be all of it."

"Hmmm," Barkin said, a little surprised that Ron actually made up his work. "I'll run this by your other teachers, which shouldn't be too difficult since I teach about half your classes. Now get to your next class."

"Sure," Ron said as he left the room, leaving Barkin to check up on the work.

'Hmmm,' Barkin thought as students started entering the class. 'This is certainly Stoppable's handwriting, but it just doesn't make any sense to me. He's a slacker that has no real interest in school.' He was snapped out of his thoughts when the bell rang. 'I'll talk to him about it later,' he thought as he began teaching.

It was lunch time and Ron seemed to be getting a whole lot of attention, moreso than Kim use to. Someone who would take an explosion to save a life was definately something more, and the fact that he survived meant that he had serious appeal, particularly to to female portion. The male part just wanted to know about Ron's bike and how well he could handle it.

"Geez," Ron said as he sat to Kim's left. "I'm back for not even a day and I'm already the talk of the school."

"Considering that you were willing to sacrifice yourself to save someone, even if it's Kim, says something about your character," Monique told from Ron's left.

"I just did what I thought was best for the world," Ron admitted. "There are probably quite a few guys in the world just like me." 'Well, maybe not exactly like me,' he added in thought.

"I don't know, Ron," Kim told him. "How many guys in the world would be willing the risk their lives if it meant that another could live on? You're certainly not a dime a dozen," she said, still wondering if ingesting the substance in front of her would be safe.

"I have to agree with Kim," Erik told him. "Not many people, male or female, are willing to risk themselves in the ways either of you do. No offense, but it's hard to believe that you don't have many dates."

"None taken," Ron answered, his guard up. "It could just be because of Bonnie's influence, she isn't exactly the best judge in character, and she has no real qualms about vocalizing her distaste for someone."

"That's an understatement," Monique said bluntly.

"Hey, my main man," Felix rolled up holding his fist out.

"Felix, what's happenin?" Ron said as he returned the gesture.

"I think I should be asking you that question," Felix replied. "From what Kim's told us you saved her and took an explosion full force. Care to explain how you suvived?" he asked with complete interest.

"To tell you the truth, I have not clue," Ron admitted. "A little over a week until I woke up from a coma in my uncle's lab. Apparently I was worse for wear when he found me. He said that he had to do quite a few sugical procedures to insure that I lived."

"Good Doctor," Felix said, looking Ron up and down. "You don't look like you have a scar on you."

"It's too bad he couldn't do that for himself," Ron said, more to himself. "That burn scar on his back looked to be very painful when he got it."

"A burn scar?" Felix asked curiously.

"Yeah," Ron said. "It takes up the majority of his upper back, he got it when one of his experiments went to the point of disastrous," he admitted.

"How often does that happen?" Kim asked. "And when did it happen?"

"That was the second time something life threatenning occurred with one of his experiments," Ron said. After a pause and a few thoughts he replied, "And it happened about ten years back."

Knowing that was all they were going to get from him Felix asked, "So what's up with the bike? I thought you'd keep you scooter."

"First off, that is my scooter, uncle Zeke just put quite a few of his own touches to it," Ron told his video game chum. "And second, how did you know that the bike was mine."

"There was a Fearless Ferret and Nakasumi stickers on it," Felix answered simply. "Anyone who even remotely knew you would recognize your style of decoration."

"Right," Ron said.

"Nice license plate though," Felix commented. "Cyborg, certainly an interesting custom."

"Though it wasn't my idea, I do like it," Ron admitted.

"You're uncle's idea?" Kim asked.

"Actually it was Sarah's," Ron corrected. "Her mind appears to be that of a genius. She's already figure out the basis of playing advanced strategies in the Zombie Mayhem games."

"And how old is she?" Felix asked.

"She's twelve," Ron answered.

"Well now," Felix said thoughtfully. "Maybe we should take her under our wing."

"You'd have to ask uncle Zeke first," Ron said. "He would have to like you first and he's not very trusting to new faces," he finished.

"I guess that explains why he doesn't trust me," Erik added, relieved that his cover wasn't blown.

"Sure," Ron said with as normal of a face as possible.

The rest of lunch was pretty much uneventful, save for people staring at Ron, wondering if he was actually in an explosion.

'Geez, how little do they trust Kim's word, she's not one to go make something like that up and then go into a depression at random,' Ron thought to himself as he was wary about the people around him. 'I mean I like attention, but this is just creepy.'

The rest of the school hours were jsut about as uneventful, save for the bombardment of questions Ron got occasionally. Whether they about the explosion or his bike, the questions were still annoying. The only real downside about leaving school was that he wouldn't be able to spend more time with his friends, and especially Kim.

Ron had his helmet on and was about to put Rufus into the storage compartment.

"Hey, Ron," a voice called out to him.

Ron turned to see Erik approaching him. Ron waved, acknowledging that Erik had his attention.

"Kim's been wanting to hang out," Erik told him. "And to be honest, so have I. Other than the fact that your pants fall frequently on missions, I don't know anything about you," he admitted. "Kim's important to me, and you're important to her. I don't really want any tension between us tearing you two apart."

"Sure, I just have to go home and drop my books off," Ron told him through his helmet. "Uncle Zeke will also want to know where I'll be, for medical purposes," he explained.

"Still recovering, I see," Erik said. "That's cool."

"So where are we meeting?" Ron asked.

"Bueno Nacho," Erik replied. "From what I've been told, you both enjoy eating there and I figured you probably have been eating healthy since you woke up."

"Uncle Zeke is a good cook, but his focus has always been health before taste," Ron told him with a bit of excitement in his voice. "It'll be good to finally eat there again."

"Later," Erik told him as he went to his bike.

"Sure," Ron said as he put Rufus into the storage compartment before starting his own bike and riding off. While riding, Ron had a Johnny Cash song in his head.

It was about half an hour later when Ron arrived at Bueno Nacho. He walked in and went straight to the front counter.

"Welcome to Bueno Nacho," Ned said as he turned around. "How may I... Ron!?"

"How may I Ron?" said person retorted with an amused smile. "How's it going, Ned?"

"Better now," Ned answered honestly.

"How have things been since I was last here?" Ron asked, curious as to how exciting thing got.

"Boring, to say the least," Ned told him. "It only got worse when the new CEO sent the new manager, Lars."

"Sorry to hear that," Ron replied with a look of sympathy.

"You weren't when it was you who took the position as assistant manager," Ned challenged with a smirk.

"Hey, I earned that position," Ron argued back. "The Naco was, and still is, a hit to the public."

"Can't argue with you there," Ned said honestly. "I just wonder how this guy was seen as management material," he said, pointing to Lars.

"I see what you mean," Ron said to him. "He looks like he can barely figure out how to work a Microwave oven."

They both had a laugh until Lars gave Ned a glare.

"So what would you like?" Ned asked, now all business.

"Just a Grande Sized Naco combo," Ron answered.

"Would you like some Diablo Sauce with that?" Ned asked.

"Most definately," Ron said.

"Coming right up," Ned said as he started to prepare what Ron ordered.

When Ron was given his food he said to Ned, "I noticed that there are more kids than usual, what's up?"

"The Little Diablos are what's up," Ned replied pointing to a poster on the wall. "The CEO introduced them and the kids just couldn't resist. They may help with sales, but the noise and running get old very quickly," he finished.

"So I can see," Ron said as kids were running around. "Well, I'll see you later."

"Have a Muy Bueno day," Ned replied immediately.

"Sure, you too," Ron called back as he went to the booth he and Kim normally shared, except, this time, one more person occupied the booth. 'At least he's not in my spot,' Ron thought as he sat across Kim and Erik.

"Hey, Ron," Erik said with a smile.

"Nice of you to join us," Kim scolded playfully.

"Yeah, well Ned hasn't seen me for a while, he might have thought that I ditched Bueno Nacho for Cow n' Chow," Ron said as he started engorging himself.

Rufus started feasting as well.

"Yeah, the day that happens is the day I eat my entire collection of Cuddle Buddies," Kim joked as she took a bite of her salad.

"Don't tempt me," Ron told her after he swallowed a bite from his Naco. "I might end up losing one of my food pleasures, but entertainment like that would be priceless," Ron finished, causing all three of them to laugh.

The three were conversing and laughing and, basically, having a good time, mostly Kim and Erik. During the entire time, Ron had been keeping a wary eye on Erik, he still didn't trust the guy. And during the times that Ron wasn't watching, Rufus took over.

After they ate, Kim asked, "So where should we go now?"

"How about the park?" Ron suggested. "I need to view some outdoor scenery after being stuck indoors for so long, and being stuck in uncle Zeke's house didn't help either," he finished with a joke.

"Huh?" was all Erik could say as he scratched his head.

"He was talking about school," Kim explained.

"How did you get that?" Erik asked, clearly curious about Ron's mystery of a mind.

"You wouldn't believe how easy it is when you've been friends for so long," Kim told to him. "And, occasionally, I tend to agree with him on that subject," she admitted, sheepishly.

"I'll take your word for it," Erik said as he was preparing to get on his motorcycle.

"Still not acquainted with Middleton's streets, are you?" Ron asked, amused at what Erik was about to do.

"What do you mean?" Erik asked.

"He means that there's be no point in riding to a place that's only a few blocks away," Kim explained again. "We'll ride back later."

It took them about eight minutes to reach the park. They started walking, which allowed Ron to take in the scenery before him.

'The only way this view could be even more beautiful is if KP was standing in the picture,' Ron thought to himself as he looked over at the couple. He still felt empty inside, and knew there was only one way to fill in that void. 'But if he makes her happy, then who am I to stand in their way,' he finished is thought miserably.

The situation didn't exactly look cozy. Erik was pushing Kim on the swing, while Ron was on the see-saw alone. He began to feel even more alone than before.

Ron decided to speak up, "I'll see you guys later."

"Sure, Ron," Kim said to her best friend.

"It was nice spending time with you," Erik told him.

"I feel the same," though it looked like he was talking to them both, he was only referring to Kim. He started walking back to Bueno Nacho, where he parked his bike. When he reached his bike, he pulled the tarp from off of it and started folding it to insure that the storage compartment would have some space.

"You're probably not going to get used to riding in there any time soon," Ron told him as he put the tarp away and put his helmet on. "How about you just jump in my shirt for now?"

Rufus jumped in excitement and climbed up Ron's shirt and into the neck where his head poked out.

Ron pulled out a small helmet out of his coat pocket, "Uncle Zeke thought you migh need this." He handed the helmet to Rufus.

Rufus strapped the helmet on.

"You ready?" Ron asked.

"Yep," was the reply Rufus made.

"Here we go," Ron said with less vigor than normal as he started his bike. He may have to keep his focus, but that didn't stop him from being depressed. He rode off in the direction of his uncle's house, hoping to get to bed soon.

When he arrived, he parked the motorcycle in the garage and placed his helmet on the bike and his jacket on a coat rack.

At this point in time he was too depressed to have a appetite so he told them he'd just be going to bed.

'Must've been spending time with Kim and Erik,' Zeke thought to himself. 'This must be really hard for him, especially considering how much those two have been through.' Zeke didn't dwell on these thoughts because he had too much research to do and he knew that Ron needed to be alone.

Ron walked up the steps and into his room, where he just layed on the bed, his day clothes still on. He fell asleep with on last thought going through his head, 'Is Kim happy with him?'

* * *

To be continued...

Not exactly action packed, but I had to bring out more of a plotline than anything. I actually have a rich uncle who built his own house, so I know how it feels to be in a big house. I'm poor with description so it may take a bit for me to get a chapter out. Anyway, Read & Review.


	5. Chapter 4: Diablos Attack

**Man and Machine**

**Disclaimer: I own neither Kim Possible nor Darkman.**

"Talking"

'Thinking'

_Flashbacks_

_Why am I here? There are days when I wonder those exact thoughts. I enjoy what I do, and my usage of robotics is certainly beyond normal standards. I dearly love my daughter as well, and I couldn__'t thank my ex enough when he first introduced me to her. To tell the truth, it's because of Zeke that I'm as successful as I am. I just wanted to impress a guy that I liked, but he wouldn't give women with a bust size of a cantalope a passing glance unless they could prove that they could give him a decent challenge in chess without much effort in thought. Zeke was never one to base any form of relationship on appearances, even when he could charm his way into the pants of nearly every woman that crosses his path. Zeke has never thought of himself as a catch, only someone who wanted a purpose in the world. He puts everything he has into his research because it's the only place that he feels he's useful. We've only been intimate a few times, and every time he treats me with such respect and care that I end up falling for him all over again. And every time I think about my life, I remember I'm here because of him. I owe him for my career, I owe him for my daughter, and, most importantly, I owe him because he was the first outside of family to truly see me as a person. I'm here in this house because I love him. I just wish he could leave these walls, so he would finally be able to walk in the world without fear that he couldn't help people. So that he could finally be as happy as I am when I'm with him._

_- Dr. Vivian Frances Porter_

Chapter 4: Diablos Attack

* * *

Vivian had her purse with her, she was about to walk out the when she pushed the button for the intercom, "Sarah and I are going out for a bit, do you need anything?"

After a few second Zeke's voice responded, "Yeah, a safe way to leave house."

"Seriously, Zeke," Vivian responded to his joke.

"Seriously?" Zeke questioned. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were spending time with Motor Ed," he joked again.

"Zeke," Vivian responded, getting a little annoyed at his antics, although she couldn't help but smile that he could crack a joke, given his situation.

"A list of everything necessary should be printing out next to you," Zeke told her as the printer by the intercom started printing out the list of all that Zeke would need at the moment.

"I'm still wondering how you keep up such efficiency," Vivian said while pressing the transmission button.

"It's more of a curse than anything," Zeke admitted to her. "But sometimes a curse has its benefits."

"Is there anything else you need?" Vivian asked before she called Sarah down.

"Not really, but it would put me at ease if you brought Oliver with you," Zeke admitted to her.

"Ahhh, I didn't know you cared," Vivian joked herself.

"I don't," Zeke told her. "But if you get abducted, then Sarah has the same risks."

"Very funny," she said sarcastically.

"Thanks, I thought so too," Zeke let in one last joke.

"Oliver," Vivian called out.

A chubby man of medium height walked out and bowed to Vivian, "How may I be of service?"

"Sarah and I are going out and Zeke wants you to come with us," Vivian told him.

"Well, I certainly don't want to disappoint Dr. Williams," Oliver told her.

"I agree, he certainly doesn't need to be worrying about us," Vivian said to her robotic friend. "He already has enough stress on his plate." She then pushed another button on the intercom, "Sarah, it's time to go."

"I'll be down in a bit, mom," Sarah's voice responded through the intercom.

After about two minutes Sarah was walking down the steps in a sky blue sundress and a pair of sandals.

"Well aren't you a cute one," Ron said to his cousin as he stepped inside and closed the door, just getting back from school. Ron then looked at Oliver, "It's been a while since I've seen you."

"Well, you know," Oliver responded. "I'm here when needed."

"Just make sure that you don't go anywhere that has a metal detector," Ron said as he started walking up the steps. "People might think you're armed or something. I mean, beside your arms."

"Very funny, Ron," Oliver retorted with sarcasm.

"Thanks, I certainly thought so," Ron joked as he walked to his room.

'They have the same form of wit,' Vivian thought as she started to see the family resemblance beyond paranoia. She read the list and at the top were numbers and letters. 'What is he...' she started the thought and then noticed what it said. 'Zeke's definitely being thoughtful here,' was her final thought before she took Sarah and Oliver and left.

-

A few hours later Ron walked into the lab. He had little else to do since he finished his homework.

"How far along are you?" Ron asked, he was curious about what will be covering the majority of his body.

"We have all three compounds ready separately," Dr. Westlake explained. "We just need to figure out the equation that will permanently bind all three of these compounds together and insure that they will remain stable."

"Ultimate Sunscreen has already been successfully tested," Zeke informed Ron as he continued various simulations of combining the compounds RF-78, Ultimate Sunscreen and the synthetic skin. "After the compounds have been successfully binded we'll need to figure out how to control the absortion process at will."

"So basically you'll be trying to figure out how to turn the stuff on and off?" Ron asked.

"In a nutshell, yes," Peyton responded as he examined the Ultimate Sunscreen.

Ron knew that they were seriously into their work, so he thought it would be best to not bother them anymore. 'I really need to go to my own sanctuary,' he thought before he remembered the treehouse he and Kim shared. "Do you want to go to the treehouse, Rufus?"

Rufus nodded excitedly, "Uh huh."

Ron just went to the garage with his jacket on he pulled the tarp off of his bike and folded and stored it, he put his helmet on. The garage door opened while he was doing this. He noticed a car pulling in, Vivian driving with Sarah and Oliver in the passenger seats.

"Going out?" Vivian asked rhetorically.

"Just need some time to think, and this place is a little confining after a while," Ron admitted to her.

"Well, I have something for you when you get back," Vivian told him as he started the engine.

Ron waved, acknowledging that her heard her and rode off.

"I hope he gets over this road bump," Vivian thought aloud. "He's one of the few people in this world that doesn't deserve to be depressed."

"I guess it runs in the family," Oliver said as he thought about Zeke.

"If that's true, then you may be in for a few more dificulties of your own, Sarah," Vivian said, with worry in her voice.

"As long as dad is happy, I don't care what kind of hardships I have to face," Sarah said with a determined look in her eyes.

Vivian just smiled at her.

-

Ron was lounging in the treehouse in his parents' yard while he was thinking about his relationship with Kim. 'I'm such a coward,' was the though that kept going through his head as he her the footsteps of someone approaching. "I've got lethal weapons on me," he warned.

"Put the slingshot down Huck Finn," Kim's voice called up. "It's just me."

"Is Erik with you?" Ron asked.

"He's waiting by his bike," Kim said as she climbed up. When she put her head through the opening she noticed Ron with no such weapon, "Where's the slingshot?"

"I said lethal weapons," Ron corrected her. "A slingshot is just an annoyance and is only lethal depending on where you aim. Besides, I said weapons, I only have one slinshot."

"Then what did you mean?" Kim asked.

"You saw how I dealt with those Synthodrones," Ron said. "My hands are good for more than just preparing gourmet food," he said with a smirk.

"I hear that," Kim said, recalling him in action. At this point, if Ron's fighting is anywhere near the level of skill he has in culinary arts, then Drakken and all their other foes are in trouble.

"So how'd you figure out I was here?" Ron asked. "I didn't tell anyone where I was going."

"Dr. Porter said you went out to think, and this is the only place where you could be alone to do just that," Kim responded. "So what's been keeping you down recently?" she asked.

"It's just your dating Erik," Ron admitted to her. "I feel like we're drifting apart, like when you met Monique, I'm just glad I found a friendship in her before you drifted too far."

"Ron, you're my best friend," Kim said to him in complete sincerity. "Just because I'm dating Erik, it doesn't mean that I'll just ditch you altogether, we've been through far too much for me to just forget this friendship," she told him.

"I just wish I could be sure of that," Ron told her, still keeping his depressed tone. "For the most part, I've never really approved of your past relationships, but I supported them," he admitted to her.

"And I'm glad you did," Kim responded. "I don't think I could have gotten through any of them without you."

"I still don't trust Erik," Ron told her. "Something about him still rubs me the wrong way. Just be careful."

"Don't worry about me," Kim responded to him.

"Hey, Kim," Erik's voice called.

"He can't come up here," Ron told her.

"Ron," Kim said.

"I mean it," Ron told her. "This treehouse has a weight limit, and we're pushing it with the three of us in here," he finished indicating Rufus as well as Kim and himself.

"So, are we okay?" Kim asked him, hoping for a positive response.

Ron just smile at her, "We're good, KP."

Kim just hugged him and climbed down.

As Ron watched Kim leave he turned to Rufus and say, "Here it is, Rufus."

Rufus tilted his head in confusion.

"Concrete proof that, not only am I a coward, but also the world biggest fool," Ron said, still watching long after they disappeared from view. "It's no wonder so many people look down on me," he said as he scooped Rufus up and put him in his pocket as he climbed out of the treehouse. Ron got onto his bike and it took him a few minutes to get back to his uncle's house.

Ron walked in and when he saw Vivian he remembered what she said to him.

"Dr. Porter," Ron said, getting her attention. "You said you had something for me," he told her.

"Oh, that's right," Vivian said as she walked to the closet. She pulled out a hangar with a black tuxedo wrapped in plastic.

"You got this for me?" Ron asked. "You have my gratitude but are you sure it'll fit?" he asked as he examined the tux.

"Zeke gave me your measurements," Vivian explained to him. "Why don't you try it on, and see how it feels," she suggested.

Ron nodded, took the tux from her and headed into the restroom to change.

Vivian walked to the intercom and pushed the calling button to the lab, "Zeke, Ron's trying on the tux. You want to see."

"Why not?" Zeke responded. "I need to take a break anyway," and after a minute Zeke and Dr. Westlake were walking down the hallway with Sarah alongside them.

When Ron stepped into the room he was slightly surprised to see everyone currently living under the roof waiting too see him.

"Looking sharp, Ron," Zeke commented. "360, and let's see how sharp."

Ron nodded and turned around slowly to give everyone time to take the appearance in.

"Very nice," Peyton added in. "Those measurements appear to have been very accurate."

"I'll say," Vivian admitted. "If it weren't for Sarah, I might have considered you as a possibility of involvement."

"If we weren't cousins, and around the same age, I'd be interested," Sarah told him as he went to change back.

Before he left the room he looked at his uncle and said, "You do realize that I'm probably not going to prom, right?"

"Whatever you say, Ron," was Zeke's only response as Ron walked to change back into his normal attire.

"I will thank you for your consideration though," Ron told him as he brought the tux with him to his room.

"Are you sure he'll make good use of that tux?" Vivian asked Zeke, not so confident in what Zeke told her.

"About as sure as I was of his survival when I made him apart of Project Cyborg," Zeke admitted to her. "No theory is 100 until the person who came up with it backs it up with hard evidence from extensive research of experiments."

"This is your problem," Vivian said to him in frustration. "You still see the vast majority of life as something to study."

"And through this, I've been able to keep myself and anyone else involved with me safe," Zeke replied simply.

His response annoyed her, but what annoyed her even more was that it was true. The studying he's done has allowed him to make precautions which have kept him, her, Sarah and Ron safe from those who would attempt to use them to control him.

"Well milady," Zeke said to her in an english accent as he held out his hand. "What say you to a dinner for two?"

Vivian couldn't help but chuckle at his occasional goofy antics and his well polished accent, people might actually mistake him for a Brit. "That would be a delightful experience, milord," she told him as she took his hand. "But what of your research?" she asked him.

"Sometimes you have to relax to find what you are looking for," Zeke answered to her. "If I constantly researched, I would either be dead or forced to work in the military," he admitted.

Vivian couldn't help but agree with that, had he only been a scientist, he would be more confined than he is now. Being competent with the martial arts he knows has insured that he and anyone in his care is safe.

Zeke escorted her to a private dining area where there was food ready to be ingested. "Bon Appetite," he said.

-

When Ron went into his room, he hung his tux in the closet. He wasn't as depressed as he was the other night so he changed into his sleeping attire and went to bed. He'd already eaten so missing dinner wasn't a big deal. Right before he was about to fall asleep, one thought kept running through his head, 'I am such a fool.'

-

It was the night of the Prom and Ron was on his bike, watching in envy as most people with their special someones walked in, hand in hand. When Ron heard a familiar bike driving up, he decided it wasn't the best idea to be there when she arrived, because he may not be able to control his actions if he was.

-

Kim was riding on Erik's bike when she noticed a black and blue motorcycle moving away from the school, 'Could Ron...'

She wasn't able to finish her thoughts because Erik stopped and the jerk snapped her back to reality.

"You ready?" Erik asked with a suave kind of smile.

"You know it," Kim replied, her previous thoughts tucked in the back of her mind for later.

-

Ron rode over to Bueno Nacho. When he walked in he saw that Ned was a little nervous, but didn't think much on it.

"Welcome to Bueno Nacho," Ned said, trying to get Ron's attention. "May I take your order?"

"Hey, Ned," Ron said, his thoughts occupied. "I'll just have the usual."

"Ron," Ned whispered. "There's something seriously wrong here."

"NED!!" Lars, the manager yelled. "Did you ask our best customer if he would like some Diablo Sauce?"

"No, sir," Ned said and he began to write out evil in capital letters with the sauce. "Is there anything else we can help you with?"

"Yeah," Ron told him.

Ned was starting to feel relieved, thinking Ron got the message.

"I'd like one of those Little Diablo toys," Ron told them.

Ned was now seriously starting to wonder how stupid Ron was.

"Here you go," Lars said, handing the toy to Ron.

Ron walked over to the booth he normally shared with Kim. He started eating, not really thinking much of anything.

Rufus eating alongside him. Rufus noticed the writing and moved some of the food to read Evil. He tried to get his master's attention, but Ron was far too out of it.

After he was finished with the food he looked at the toy he requested. 'So what's so great about it?' he thought to himself as he picked it up and started examining it. 'It doesn't seem like all that to me, although it does look like a design that Nakasumi would make,' He them decided to get an inside peek at it and switched his vision to X-ray. What he saw surprised him, 'What the hell, this isn't the kind of technology you put in a fast food restaurant toy,' he thought too himself. 'Hell, it almost looks like the Hephaestus Pro...' he then started to examined his own circuitry. 'It _is_ the Hephaestus Project, this means that Drakken's probably the new CEO of Bueno Nacho.' He recorded what he was seeing through his X-ray and shut both the camera and the X-ray off. "There's only one way to find out," he said to himself as he stood up and pocketed his Little Diable.

Rufus looked at Ron, confused.

Ron himself picked Rufus up and putting him in his pocket. He walked out the door but not before thanking the employees, "Thanks for the food."

Lars responded, "Anything for our best customer." Had his eyes been open he probably wouldn't have missed the wink he gave Ned.

Ned, finally relieved that Ron got it, relaxed a bit.

Ron walked over to the pay phone outside of the restaurant and dialed a number.

"Hello?"

"Wade, I need a call to Bueno Nacho's main office," Ron told him.

"You want the customer service?" the twelve year old genius asked.

"No, I want a direct line to the head honcho," Ron said with complete seriousness in his voice.

"I don't know," Wade told him. "Bueno Nacho is sure to have heavy security, it won't be easy to hack in," he paused. "Got it," Wade said after a few seconds.

"Bueno Nacho CEO office," a familiar voice said on the line. "El Presidente speaking."

'Bingo,' Ron thought as he hung up the phone.

Someone tapped on his shoulder.

Ron looked, unsurprised to see Lars standing there, attacking him. "Talk about horrible customer sevice, you barely even let me finish my phone call," he commented.

"Mr. Drakken is a busy man," Lars retorted as he started punching at Ron, who dodged them easily.

"No technique," Ron told him. "You haven't had much training, have you?"

"I'll show you what I can do," Lars said as he lunged towards him.

Ron raised his left fist and swung hard as his head came into range. Ron hit Lars's left temple with serious force, knocking the big guy out.

Ned just looked at Ron in surprise as he stood at the entrance. "Wow, Ron," he said in amazement. "I didn't know you had it in you."

"I have a lot more than that in me," Ron replied. 'A whole lot more,' he thought as he walked over to his bike. "Call the police to pick him up," he said as he put his helmet on.

"Where are you going?" Ned asked.

"I'm picking up Kim," Ron answered as he started the engine and pulled out of Bueno Nacho.

He pushed a button on his helmet.

A few seconds later a voice said, "Ron, this line is only to be used in emergencies."

"Uncle Zeke, this _is_ an emergency," Ron told him. "Drakken is the head CEO of Bueno Nacho. If you open the link for my optical camera, I'll send you an X-ray of a Little Diablo I took a picture of. I'm sure you'll see what I mean."

"Sure," Zeke told him.

It didn't take long for Zeke to put the pieces together when the recording was sent, "Does anyone else know that you know?"

"Just Ned, but he was trying to warn me about the Diablos being evil, so it's safe to say that Drakken isn't aware of that fact," Ron told him. "And Ned doesn't know about the Hephaestus Project."

"Where are you now?" Zeke asked.

"I'm going to pick up Kim," Ron answered. "I'm not going to try and stop Drakken alone."

"Stop by here afterwards," Zeke told Ron before he switched the signal off.

Ron shifted gears to get to where he needed to faster. His destination was Middleton High School.

-

The Kimmunicator chime went off.

"I'd better get that," Kim said.

"Leave it," Erik said. "It's probably not important."

It kept chiming.

She turned her Kimmunicator off and put in on a table when the door slammed open to reveal Ron.

"Kim, I need your help," Ron told her.

"What is it?" she asked, concerned.

"Drakken is in control of Bueno Nacho," Ron told her.

This got a laugh from Erik, who apparently thought that Ron's accusation was rediculous.

"Kim, there are over 30,000 Bueno Nacho locations, world wide," Ron said. "Drakken is using the Hephaestus Project in the Little Diablos, nearly every kid in the world has one and you know what the Hephaestus Project can do."

"That actually makes sense," Kim admitted. "Small toys that can become weapons of destruction in an instant," she moved over to Ron's bike. "Are you coming?" she asked.

"You can't be serious," Erik said.

"She's very serious," Ron said to him as he opened the storage compartment and pulled out a helmet. "Uncle Zeke made a custom fit for you."

"Thanks," she said as she put it on.

The Kimmunicator chimed and Kim answered.

"Finally," Wade said to her. After everything was explained Wade told her, "The voice ID matches, it was definitely Drakken on the line. I'll keep you posted," and he broke communication.

Ron started his bike. "We need to take out the signal antenna before he activates it in Middleton," he said through the microphone into the built in headphones.

"You mean, Drakken doesn't know that you know?" Kim asked.

"No, I hung up after hearing his voice and knocked out his goon before he could inform him," Ron answered her. "The only ones who know that we know, besides ourselves, are Wade, Erik, Ned and Uncle Zeke."

"So where are we going?" Kim asked. "Bueno Nacho is in the other direction."

"We don't have the equipment necessary to take out signal antenna," Ron told her. "We're headed to Uncle Zeke's to get something to take it out."

"Considering that Drakken isn't aware of out movement, preparing isn't a bad idea," Kim admitted as they pulled up the driveway.

Ron turned off the engine and jumped off the bike along with Kim.

Ron put his hand on the DNA scanner and then typed in his password.

"What is you des..." Veronica started.

"To the lab, express speed," Ron told her.

"Very good, Ronald," Veronica said as the elevator started at a faster speed that normal.

After a few seconds, the door opened to reveal one of the most impressive labs Kim had ever seen. "Unbelievable," was the only word Kim could describe this as.

"Uncle Zeke," Ron called out. "I have the Little Diablo toy."

"Nice work, Ron," Zeke said as he approached them and took the toy from Ron's hand. He put on a pair of goggles and looked at the toy thoroughly. After a few seconds he said, "You were right, this is the Hephaestus Project."

"So, if Drakken activates the signal, what's to stop it from transforming?" Kim asked.

"Clearly you've forgotten how paranoid I am," Zeke told her. "No radio or transmission signal can get through these walls unless they are tuned specifically to the only frequency that my antenna picks up," he finished with a smile.

"Another form of proof, that paranoia can keep one safe," Ron saluted, which caused all three of them to chuckle.

All serious again, Zeke handed Ron a pen and a remote button.

"What does the pen do?" Ron asked, knowing that his uncle does well with disguising weapons.

"The pen is a remote bomb with the potency equivalent to half a pound of C4," Zeke explained to them, taking Kim by surprise. "Turn the top ninety degrees clockwise and click it in that order to arm it and turn the remote on by turning the bottom ninety degrees counter clockwise," Zeke explained to them.

"And then push the button," Ron finished for him.

"Exactly, now get going," Zeke told them.

They took the elevator and when Kim walked outside the front door her Kimmunicator chime again.

"What's the sitch, Wade?" Kim asked.

"The Little Diablos have been activated," Wade said, hiding under his desk.

"How did Drakken find out?" Kim asked.

"I don't know," Wade said.

"Neither do I," Ron said to her. "Let's think about it after we take out the signal."

"Right," Kim said as they rushed over to Ron's bike.

"Hold on, because we'll be moving at high speed," Ron told her as he started the engine.

Kim decided to take his word and held Ron tightly.

Ron pushed three buttons just below the speedometer and the dual exhaust pipes started shooting flames. "Rock 'n' Roll," was all he said as he let go of the brake and started moving from zero to ninety in five seconds flat.

The sudden burst of speed really surprised Kim.

It took them about three minutes to see Bueno Nacho coming into view, about half way into that time they started being pursued by the Diablos.

"Kim, arm the pen," Ron said as he handed her the small explosive.

Kim herself had her arms wrapped around Ron and had to arm it as thus.

"Get ready to drop, because we're about to get some serious air," Ron told her as he popped a wheelie and pushed one final button that accelerated them up a slope and sent them flying over the Bueno Nacho sign.

Kim dropped the pen right into the taco just before they landed on top of the building.

Ron pulled out the detonator, activated it and pushed the button.

The resulting explosion would have made people think that Independence Day had come early.

"Potency of half a pound of C4 indeed," Kim said, her astonishment about Zeke's capabilities were becoming less frequent.

The Kimmunicator chimed again, "Go, Wade."

"The Diablos have stopped," Wade said before checking the site. "That's wierd, you got a hit on the site."

"Well done, you've figure out how to stop me, and in record time I might add," the video of the blue-skinned mad man, Drakken, started. "However, this is only the beginning, Shego dropped by your school and met the nicest boy there." The camera then turned to show Erik.

"Kim? What's going on?"

Kim growled.

"If you want to insure your boyfriend's safety, surrender." The video ended there.

"This is obviously a trap," Ron stated. "Though something's wrong here."

"What do you mean?" Kim asked, angry about Drakken taking Erik.

"How on earth did Shego know who to take?" Ron asked. "The fear he was showing tells me that he wouldn't just turn himself in either, especially if Shego herself is on the FBI's most wanted list."

Kim just looked at Ron in surprise at how flawless his logic was.

"And, more importantly, how the hell did Drakken find out about us knowing his plan?" Ron asked another question. "The only ones who were aware of this fact were you, me, Wade, uncle Zeke and Erik. Ned knew something was wrong, hell he tried to warn me, but he didn't know it was Drakken pulling the strings, and he has no clue about the Hephaestus Project."

"What are you saying?" Kim asked.

"I'm saying that someone tipped him off," Ron told her. "Wade told me that you weren't answering the Kimmunicator. You normally answer without hesitation. Why weren't you doing it now?"

"Because Erik said that it probably wasn't important," she admitted with her head down. She then shot a look at Ron as she put the pieces together in her head, "Are you saying that you think Erik is working for Drakken?"

"All I'm saying is that we can't rule out that possibility," Ron told her. "This has nothing to do with my distrust with him," he told her. "To tell you the truth, I hope I'm wrong, because if being right means you get hurt, then it isn't worth it," he admitted to her.

Kim could see in his eyes that he truly meant what he said, and with those words, she started to see him in a different light, 'That is probably the sweetest thing he's ever said to me.' Another thought came to her, 'The way he's talking now makes it seem like he came directly from a novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.'

Ron looked at her with complete honesty in his eyes. "If my suspicions about him are right and he's working for Drakken then you two dating will only benefit Drakken," he explained to her. "Just don't let your emotions cloud your judgment," Ron finished his warning.

Kim couldn't help but smile at Ron's concern, 'He's willing to help me every step of the way.' This lead her thoughts to another direction that she wasn't so comfortable about thinking about at the moment. 'Let's just stop Drakken,' Kim thought as she regained focus on the matter at hand. "Let's get to my house," Kim told Ron. "We'll need to equip."

"Sure thing, KP," Ron told her as he revved the engine of his bike and took off in the direction of Kim's house.

* * *

To Be continued...

How many people actually got the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle reference? Next Chapter, coming up, hopefully soon. And Ron's logic is strictly due to his spending time with Zeke. Zeke and Vivian are kind of in an on/off relationship, that will be fully explained in later chapters. Neither the next nor the one after that are the end of the fic so don't assume that either.


	6. Chapter 5: Finally Together

**Man and Machine**

**Disclaimer: I own neither Kim Possible nor Darkman.**

"Talking"

'Thinking'

_Flashbacks_

_They say that a man is measured through his accomplishments, that the more he does, the farther he goes. If this is true then why are two of the most deserving people I know void of the happiness that they__'ve earned through every right. Ronald has been through so much and has gone farther than any normal person I've known. He's been the best friend a person could ask for and has been there for Kim when she was on the verge of self-destruction, some of which he had inadvertently caused from simply not being there. Ezekiel has been trying his hardest in life to insure that his research will be used for humanity's benefit, which is a wonder on its own considering how much people, who were suppose to be working for a better world, tried to use him for their own benefit. The worst part is his experiences he received at a young age, which is something that no twelve year old should have to go through. Sometimes I wonder if there's anything I can do to help them achieve the happiness they've earned several times over. In the end, all I can do is hope that the life that they've work so hard to achieve will be given to them._

_- James Timothy Possible_

Chapter 5: Finally Together

* * *

They arrived at Kim's house, relieved to see that it was still standing with minimal damage, though the front door was blown off.

"Mom, Dad, Tweebs?" Kim called out. "Is everyone alright?"

"We're just fine," Anne said as she walked over to her daughter from the kitchen.

"Yeah, Ezekiel warned us and we threw them outside just before the command signal activated," James told her as he walked by his wife. "I'm surprised that Drew was able to come up with such an efficient plan," he admitted.

"You aren't the only one," Kim told him. "We need to equip ourselves properly before we confront Drakken," she said to them as she walked towards the steps. Her destination was her bedroom.

"And what about you, Ronald?" James asked.

"I just need to change," Ron told them as he held his folded mission clothes up. "All the equipment I need is in my bike's storage compartment," he finished.

James leaned in and whispered to Ron, "Does Kim know?"

"Not at the moment," Ron whispered back. "There hasn't been any situation where I've needed to expose myself," he finished still keeping his tone at a whisper.

Anne, who was listening in asked, "Expose yourself? Does this have anything to do with your relationship with Kim?"

"Actually, that's not what we're talking about, Anne," James told her with all seriousness. "Ronald, you should probably get ready," he told him, trying to get Ron out of the situation.

"On it," Ron said as he walked towards the bathroom, silently thanking James for the interference.

-

Kim was in her room, she opened her closet and pushed back her wardrobe to reveal a hand print/DNA scanner in the back wall. she placed her hand on it and it scanned her handprint and her DNA. A door opened to reveal a white one piece suit with light blue markings on it. She put the suit on.

"Kim, the battle suit is still only experimental," Wade warned her from the Kimmunicator.

"It's about to get a field test," Kim told the twelve year old genius. "This is probably the farthest one of Drakken's schemes has gotten him, what's worse is that it's actually working, I can't afford to hold back anything if we're going to stop him."

"It may be a good time to test it out, but be careful," Wade told her. "I'm not sure if all of the bugs have been ironed out and its stealth mode is still inactive."

"No problem," Kim reassured him as she walked out of her room with her backpack in hand. She walked down stairs to see Ron standing by the opening that use to be the front door. "Hope you weren't waiting too long."

"I had my mission attire with me," Ron told her. "My equipment is in my bike's storage compartment, so I'm set."

"Then let's get going," she told him as she walked towards Ron's bike.

They both put their helmets on.

Ron got on with Kim behind him. "I'm the only one capable of driving this bike, my DNA signature is the only one it's programmed to, it'll shut off if anyone else attempts to take it, and only the owner can override this setting," he explained to her through the headset as he started the engine.

"Fair enough," Kim said as she held onto Ron.

"Brace yourself," Ron warned his best friend. "Because we'll be going max speed," he pushed a few buttons on the center frame and the exhaust pipe started shooting out white flames.

Kim held onto Ron as tight as possible because she knew that the jerk from the bike would be strong. She didn't notice that her grip did little to restrict Ron's breathing, but she did notice how well toned he felt to her, which caused her to blush a bit in her helmet.

"It's a good thing you're holding tightly," Ron told her. "We're going about 400 mph, and I don't think that your battle suit was designed for high velocity impacts," he said as he kept his focus on the road. "It should take us about fifteen minutes to get there, Bueno Nacho headquarters is almost 100 miles from Middleton."

Kim nodded a bit, just holding on as she saw how fast they were going from watching the ground a bit. She wasn't even thinking about how Ron's body is able to take this kind of speed, they were, after all, moving a little over half the speed of sound. And he was the one taking the brunt of the wind resistance.

About fourteen minutes later they saw the Bueno Nacho main office so Ron turned off the boosters and pulled the brake lever slowly to keep from crashing.

The two were about two meters from the office wall when the bike came to a complete stop.

"Nice riding there," Kim said as she got off of the bike. She felt a little light-headed, which wasn't surprising, given the speed they were going. She had to let her body settle before doing anything. 'I don't think I've ever free fallen that fast.'

Ron was checking to see if he had everything while waiting for Kim's body to settle. When he was finished checking he asked, "You ready, Kim?"

Her body calmed down she said, "Definitely." She lifted her right arm and her head and shot a line to the roof. She grabbed Ron and retracted the line, pulling them up, though it seemed to be slower than normal. 'Did Ron gain weight?' she thought as they reached the top.

As they moved away from the edge Wade called, "Kim, check your backpack."

She pulled it off

Ron reached in and pulled out what looked like a case of lip gloss, opened it, smelled and then closed it. "Knock out gas, my vision went a little blurry when I inhaled a bit," he told her as he handed it to Kim.

"Thanks for the demonstration," Kim said in her annoyed voice. She then pulled out a small gun.

"Looks like it was made from a toy," Ron commented.

"It was," Wade replied. "I modified it so the end sends out electro-magnetic pulses into whatever comes in contact with it," he finished.

"So we basically have a way to short out the main signal tower short of destroying it," Ron simplified.

"Exactly," Wade replied, surprised that Ron was picking up on what he was saying.

"Let's go," Kim said. "The sooner we get this done, the better," and with that she hooked up a line and held Ron as she lowered them both down. "Ron, you're heavier than normal. What kind of diet have you been on?" she asked as she noticed that they were lowering faster than they should be.

"Yeah," Ron told her as they reached the floor. "I don't think my eating habits have anything to do with my weight at this point in time," he said to her as he thought of the different metals in his body.

"Then what is the reason?" she asked, clearly curious.

Just then, they heard what sounded like small quakes. The sounds were getting louder. Then they both saw a sumo dressed up in a ninja attire.

"You will meet your doom," the sumo said in a high pitched voice.

The two teens just looked at him and started laughing.

"KP, what did you do to him?" Ron as he was calming down.

"I gave him a wedgie that he won't soon forget," she said to the cyborg. "I figured I could play a bit."

"So you've learned something from me," Ron said as he started chuckling again. "I certainly would have enjoyed seeing that."

"Vengeance shall be mine," he threatened.

"Don't talk, it make you seem less threatenning," Ron said as he tried to control his chuckling.

"I am strong, like the mountain," the sumo/ninja said as he tried to attack Ron, to which said person flipped him and the sumo landed on his back.

"You have the mountain's strength, but not its stability," Ron said as the sumo tried to get up.

"I am swift, like the wind," the sumo said in his high voice as he attempted to attack Ron again.

Ron simply grabbed the sumo's arm and wrenched it to his back as he tripped him. "But the wind is unpredictable, and you, sir, are not," he lectured as he knelt on the sumo's back while still keeping his arm barred. "Strength is means nothing if you are unstable, and speed is the same if you are predictable." Ron then wrapped his left arm around the sumo's neck and tightened. After about a minute, the sumo lost conciousness due to restricted bloodflow to the brain. After Ron rolled the sumo onto his back, he noticed that Kim and Shego were going through their normal routine, except, this time, Kim had her battle suit.

Shego knew that she had a difficult enough time facing Kim even while using her powers, but this battle suit just made things a whole lot more difficult. And the fact that Kim knew how to use it made it even worse for her.

Kim herself was working overtime, trying to stay one step ahead of Shego, which wasn't too hard given the advantage that her battle suit provided. That didn't mean that she didn't have to push herself to insure that she kept herself ahead. At this point in time Shego was predicting her movement, so she decided to wing it and throw too many punches for her to block.

While Kim was taking care of Shego, Ron was using his infrared to see if there were any traps or ambushes hidden. He then decided to be more thorough and used telescopic as well to help better. He noticed another heat signature moving down the escalator, the shape of the body looked like Erik, 'If it _is_ Erik, how the hell did he escape?' He noticed Kim running towards him, and she opened her arms. 'It's him,' Ron thought as he switched his vision to normal. The thing is though, there are still times where he still switches it to X-ray by accident, and this was one of those times. 'Not again,' he thought as he looked in Kim's direction. What he saw though seriously put his mind into overdrive. "KIM, HE'S A SYNTHODRONE!!" Ron yelled to her as he switched his vision back to normal.

"What..." and that was all she could say as Erik shocked her unconscious.

"YOU!!" Ron jumped up to the platform and ran straight towards Erik. He was the bull, and Erik was completely red at this point in time, so much that he didn't notice Shego until she clotheslined him. Ron flipped and landed hard on the floor, as he was losing consciousness, he saw Erik shifting his clothes to what suited him, and he blacked out.

"Ahhh," Shego said as she held her left arm.

"What's wrong?" Drakken said as he descended the escalator.

"What the hell is that sidekick made of?" Shego asked to no one in particular. "I nearly broke my arm with that clothesline," she finished as she was rubbing said appendage.

"What?" Drakken said, clearly surprised at this revelation. He pulled out his data scanner and ran the light over Ron's unconscious form. "I'll look into it, in the meantime, tie them up and make sure that they don't have access to those gadgets."

"You got it," Shego said as she picked Kim up and pulled her backpack off of her.

Erik picked Ron up and followed.

-

A few hours later Kim was coming to.

"Hey, Kim, you okay?" Ron asked her.

Kim looked down in shame. "You were right," she admitted to him. She then noticed that they were both tied up.

"Yeah, one of the few time that I am," Ron said as he refused to look at her. "I'm not going to gloat about something that makes me feel lower than crap."

"You have reason to gloat," Kim said to him. "If I had just listened and been more wary when Erik was approaching, we probably wouldn't been in this sitch. To find out he was a synthodrone."

"Hey, I only suspected Drakken would send one of his goons," Ron admitted to her. "I didn't think he'd go so far as to make one to seduce you. Just the thought of you two kissing at this point is just, ugh," he shuddered.

"I didn't kiss him," Kim said.

Ron smiled in relief.

"But I wanted to," she admitted.

"Too much info," he told her as he looked around.

"It looks like Drakken has finally won," Kim said as she was slowly losing hope.

"Don't talk like that," Ron told her. "That's quitter talk," he told her. "Drakken played you, now it's time to show him that when you play with fire, you get burned," he said.

Kim smiled at the analogy.

"And besides, there're other boys out there," Ron said to her. "Boys that are real for starters."

"You really think so?" Kim asked.

"Definitely," Ron told her. "You've dated a synthodrone, what do you think about a cyborg?" he asked.

"Now you're speaking in riddles," Kim said to him as she looke at him quizzically.

"Not so much, the cyborg is," just then Rufus popped out of Ron's pocket. "Rufus?"

"Rufus?" Kim asked and then noticed that Rufus's head out of Ron's pocket. "Rufus, you can get us out of here."

"Hnn," Rufus said and he tried to bite the rope, but it was too tough.

"I guess there's no other choice, seeing as Drakken actually learned something and kept your backpack away from us," Ron said, seeing that it was impossible to hide anymore. "Get down, Rufus," he ordered as he started to use his enhancements and moved his arms and legs outward.

A little confused about Ron's orders until he saw Ron moving his arms move, then he fully understood and jumped down.

"Ron, what are you..." but Kim never got to finish her question as the ropes binding Ron snapped due to the stress being put on them. The only thing Kim could say was, "What the hell?"

"I was trying to tell you," Ron said as he walked over and snapped the ropes binding her legs first, then her arms. "I'm a cyborg."

"Oh," was all Kim could say as she realized what Ron was talking about with her relationship. "But why exactly did you..." she didn't finish her question as she realized the answer. "The explosion," was all she said.

"Yeah," Ron confirmed to her. "This is the project that uncle Zeke's been working on," Ron told her.

"Then, it's all my fault," Kim said as she looked down in complete shame. 'If he hadn't have gone on that mission with me this never would have happened.'

"Stop beating yourself up about that," Ron told her. "It was my choice to take that explosion, and I'd do it again if it meant your safety. Besides it was a blessing in disguise."

"You have a point there," Kim said as they headed in the direction of the control room. "Well, that explains why you're heavier than I remember."

"Different alloys," Ron admitted. "Allows for efficient usage of weaponry."

"Now there's something I want to see," Kim said as they went on.

-

During the time of Kim and Ron escaping Drakken was looking at the scans that he took of Ron.

"What the hell?" was all that Drakken could say as he saw the scans. They looked familiar to him.

"So what's the stats?" Shego asked, clearly curious about what she was seeing.

Erik was standing right beside her.

"We may be in trouble," Drakken told them as he saw every bit of the information. "The cybertronic technology used to create the Diablos along with some advanced weaponry and highly advanced life support systems have been sugically grafted into nearly his entire organic system, they're keeping him alive," he informed them.

"So, basically, he's a cyborg?" Shego asked.

"Exactly, but how is the question," Drakken said as he looked over the details. "James Possible doesn't nearly have any form of medical history or experience, and Anne Possible doesn't have the necessary experience or history in the fields of cybertronics and robotics to be able to do something with kind of advanced precision. And another question is why."

"If I may," Erik interjected.

"Go on," Drakken said.

"Stoppable has been living with his uncle Zeke for the past few weeks," Erik relayed to his creator. "He apparently has some form of background in the fields of science because Kim referred to him as Dr."

"May we have a surname please?" Shego said, clearly annoyed. "I'm sure there are quite a few Dr. Zekes in the world."

Erik thought for a bit and said, "She referred to him as Dr. Williams."

"So it's Dr. Zeke Williams?" Shego said.

Drakken froze when she said that. He turned to Erik and demanded, "What's the buffoon's given name?"

"Ron," Erik said simply.

"Dr. Zeke Williams, a nephew by the name of Ronald," Drakken was muttering to himself as the pieces started to fit together. "This familiar design, that technique and precision," Drakken started shaking. He then started typing up a name up to do a background check.

"Dr. D, what's got you so spooked?" Shego asked.

"Erik," Drakken said, getting the synthodrone's attention as a picture was pulled up. "Is this him?" he asked hoping the answer was no.

"Yes," Erik answered. "How did you know?"

"His name is Dr. Ezekiel Ronald Williams. I've met him before," Drakken told them. "And we are in far worse trouble than I thought."

"He doesn't look like much of a threat to me," Shego said as she observed the picture. "Actually, I wouldn't mind getting to know him."

"Mock all you want, Shego, but this man is the world's biggest threat as well as its biggest asset," Drakken told her. "He's mastered over twenty-eight styles of martial arts and has a masters degree in almost three dozen forms of science. The only reason he doesn't try and stop me or any other well-informed person going for world conquest is because, one, he knows that they wouldn't dare try anything against him, and, two, he doesn't like how the US government is being ran by corrupt pigs, and, to tell you the truth, neither do I."

"He still doesn't seem like much to me," Shego said, her skepticism clear as day.

"SHEGO, YOU DON'T GET IT!!" Drakken yelled at her. "THE ONLY ONE WHO HAD EVEN A REMOTE CHANCE OF BEING ABLE TO CHALLENGE HIM HEAD ON WAS ZORPOX!!" Drakken thought for a bit and said, "This actually explains Zorpox as well."

Shego shuddered at the thought.

"You're finally understanding the severity of the situation," Drakken told her. "However, there is another name he was rumored to go by. One that you may be familiar with."

"And what name is that?" Shego asked.

"It's an anagram of his name," Drakken said to her. "The Killer Snake. The undefeated, no rules, underground fighting champion."

"The way he fought focused on the usage of Snake Kung Fu," Shego said, remembering what she'd heard of him. "His precision and attacks were so dead on that, after a while, they started calling him the King Cobra. He's never taken a life, he's had every chance and every reason, and he certainly had the ability."

"This still doesn't explain why it happened," Drakken thought aloud as he examined the blueprints. "Dr. Ezekiel Williams never tests his experiments until they are at least 90 complete, and it looks like this isn't complete as of yet."

"From what I've heard, Stoppable took an explosion full force to save Kim while on a mission to stop Dementor," Erik explained to his creator. "Apparently he had knocked her out and placed her in a pod that was too small for the both of them to fit."

"Screwed over by Dementor again," Drakken grumbled as he kept examining the blueprints. "But at least we know more about Team Possible, as well as why Dr. Williams went ahead with his project before all of his research was complete."

"Who knew that uncle Zeke had such a shady background?" Ron said, getting everyone's attention. "Though it doesn't merrit being pursued by corrupt government individuals," he finished, smirking at their surprised expressions.

"How did you escape!?" Drakken demanded as he backed up.

"You have the designs," Ron told him as he gave Drakken an uppercut. "Figure it out."

"Well, now," Shego said as she ignited her hands. "Let's see what you can really do."

"Sorry, Shego," Kim stepped in front of her. "Your fight is with me."

"Fine by me," she said as she lunged for Kim.

Kim just jumped back and through the door to the roof.

Shego followed.

"I'm calling you out, Erik," Ron said to the synthodrone as he got into a fighting stance. "No one plays Kim like that."

"Like you can do anything now," he said arrogantly as he grabbed Ron's arms and sent a heavy amount of voltage through him.

Ron just smirked as the electricity had no effect, "Metal directly beneath parts of the skin, the path causes a closed circuit." His smirk just got wider as he broke free of Erik's grip, "In short, your powers don't affect me." With that he threw his palm upward, under Erik's chin, causing Erik himself straight through the roof. Ron opened his right hand, and the center of his palm opened to reveal what looked like a miniature speaker. He pointed his open palm in the direction of the ceiling and some form of blast came from it and blew a hole in the roof. Ron jumped up through the hole he made to see that Erik was back up.

"Nice trick," Erik said as he charged towards Ron only to have Ron flip him and send his back into the wall behind him while he was upside down.

"I have a lot more tricks than just that," Ron said as he lifted his right pant leg and pulled a dagger out of a scabbard that was strapped to his leg.

This got Erik to be a little nervous because he could take blunt force, but not edges. He regained his composure and faced Ron head on.

Ron just tossed the dagger up into the air, causing Erik to look up in wonder. While the synthodrone was distracted, Ron held up his left hand and a small tube appeared to be protruding from the center of the palm. Another kind of force shot out from the small tube and hit Erik square in the chest, blasting him back into the wall. While Erik was, yet again, thrown into the wall, Ron jumped towards his dagger in an arc, grabbed the handle in mid air and slashed downward right as he landed. The dagger had hit its mark, right across Erik's chest, which started gushing out syntho-goo.

"Nooooo," Erik cursed as he melted into the puddle.

'He wasn't relying on his enhancements alone,' Drakken thought as he watched Ron deal with his best synthodrone. 'That was skill as well as enhancements, he'll be even more of a nuisance than he was as just a distraction.'

"Kim, take care of the tower, I need to do something," Ron called as he jumped down into the control room.

This gained Drakken's attentions, and so he followed Ron.

"Got it, Ron," Kim said as she pulled the gun from the side pouch and fired at the main signal tower. The tower shorted out in a spectacular display.

-

Ron pulled a wire from the back of his neck and hooked it up the the main terminal. All files with direct involvement with the blueprints to his body were deleted almost instantly.

"Gah, I should have realized that was what he was doing," Drakken muttered. He then pulled his data scanner out and said quietly, "At least I still have the scans in here."

"Don't be so sure, Drakken," Ron said as he took Drakken's data scanner from him and crushed it in his hand. "Nearly taking over the world, messing with Bueno Nacho, threatening the people, I can overlook those as you go to prison," he told Drakken as he gave him a glare that nearly made Drakken wet himself. "But you crossed the line when you played with Kim's emotion," Ron said, his voice with complete seriousness. His fist flew and hit Drakken's cheek, knocking him out of the room and through the doorway to the roof.

"Please, Stoppable, mercy," Drakken said as he tried to climb onto his feet as Ron approached him.

"Finally remembered my name when it's convenient for you, huh?" Ron said as he stopped in front of Drakken's quivering form. "Say Team Possible is all that," he told him.

"You've got to be kidding me," Drakken said but saw that he was serious with that look in his eyes. "Team Possible is all that and more," he yelled out to the world.

"Nice touch," Ron said as he crossed his arms. "Booyah."

-

Kim saw that Shego was trying to get away so she jumped in front of her. "Do you know what today taught me?" she asked.

"That you should find a boyfriend that doesn't melt," Shego said as she moved into a battle stance.

"No, that I prefer cyborgs over synthodrones," Kim finished.

This revelation caused Shego to drop her guard in surprise.

That was all Kim needed to kick Shego into the shorted out signal tower, the power behind the kick caused the tower to collapse after Shego slammed into it.

-

Kim and Ron were standing in front of Bueno Nacho Headquarters as they watched the door to the prison transport for a Drakken and Shego close and the van take off.

Kim turned to Ron, "You know Ron, we'd better hurry."

"Where? The only place that either of us would be expected, other than home is..." Ron paused as he figure out what she was saying. "Oh."

"You got it," she said as she took his hand and walked over to his bike.

They put their respective helmets on and rode off at full speed to get their destination in time.(As if anyone doesn't know)

-

Ron stopped by the Possible household and dropped Kim off while he headed towards his uncle's house.

When he arrived at his uncle's house he stopped at the walkway and ran in, but not before grabbing his normal clothes.

He ran up the steps, but not before greeting Vivian.

"Where's the fire?" Vivian asked curiously as she watched as Ron was about race up the steps. "And you just got back from stopping Drakken, don't you think you should slow down."

"No time," Ron told her. "I've got a hot Prom date," he said with a smirk.

Vivian smiled at this and asked, "Oh, with who?"

"Kim," Ron said simply, his smirk never leaving his face as he rushed up the steps, not tripping once.

'I guess Erik didn't work out,' Vivian thought, not knowing about the situation with Erik. She pushed the button to the intercom and said, "Zeke, it looks like Kim and Ron are finally together in a romantic relationship."

"Hmm, I didn't expect an incident like this would bring them together," Zeke answered back. "What happened with Erik?"

"I don't know myself," Vivian replied. "Why don't you ask him?" Vivian suggested to her lover.

"Sure," Zeke answered.

-

Ron was about halfway with getting his tux on, and he was taking it slowly to insure that he doesn't appear messy or rip anything by accident.

"Ron, what's the status with Kim and Erik?" Zeke's voice blared through the intercom by his bed.

Ron walked over to the intercom with his jacket in hand and pushed the button, "The situation ended up dire and Kim decided that she wanted go to her Junior Prom with a cyborg rather than a synthodrone."

"I can only guess that means that Lipsky created Erik to seduce Kim and that you told her about being a cyborg," Zeke voice held no disappointment nor surprise. "Did he expose himself or did you two find out on your own?"

"I was doing a thermal scan for any traps or ambushes and I switched to X-ray by accident again," Ron informed Zeke with his tux jacket on. "I warned Kim right before he exposed himself by shocking her unconscious."

"So your less than perfect mastery over your vision allowed you to see through his skin to see that he had no bones or muscles," Zeke said.

"Exactly," Ron answered as he was fiddling with the buttons. "Now I know why I didn't trust him at first sight," he said, thinking back to that day.

"How so?" Zeke said, clearly interested in this explanation.

"It was through my peripheral vision," Ron explained as Rufus tied his bow tie, which he was still all thumbs with. "I saw it when you opened the door," he said as Rufus finished tying.

"But it wasn't very easy to recall, because something else had your attention at that moment," Zeke said, and Ron could clearly hear the amusement in his voice.

"Well pardon me for being human," Ron said with complete indignance.

"And don't you forget that you still are exactly that, human," Zeke said as he cut the connection.

'No problem,' Ron thought as he finished getting ready. He walked out the door with Rufus in his pocket. As he reached the bottom of the steps he noticed Zeke, Vivian and Sarah standing there with expectant looks on their faces. "I take it there are procedures that I'm expected to follow?" Ron asked.

"Nothing more than the school rules, you just have to be here by the standard curfew or risk being brought home by the police," Zeke told him. "You get no special treatment."

"Which is exactly how I want it," Ron told him as he was turned to walk out the door.

"Wait, Ron," Vivian said, getting Ron to turn back to them. "Let me add something," she pulled out a red rose and fixed it into Ron's jacket.

"Thank you," Ron said as he turned to leave again.

"Wait," Sarah said, stopping Ron again.

Ron turned to Sarah to give her an annoyed smile, "Yes?"

Sarah held a white rose up, "You need to give this to Kim."

Ron's smile became genuine at the thoughtfulness of his younger cousin, "I will, and thank you." He took the rose from his cousin and walked out the door to his bike.

-

Kim entered her house to see everyone watching the news. "Is everyone okay?" she asked, getting their attention.

Anne was the first to notice that Kim was alone, "What happened to Erik? Weren't you and Ron going to rescue him?"

Kim just looked down in shame, "Erik turned out to be one of Drakken's synthodrones." She looked towards her family, "After finding that out, I'd rather date a cyborg."

The only person that Kim saw with a surprised look on their face was James, and he hid it very quickly. The rest thought she was joking around.

'So daddy knew,' Kim thought to herself. "I'd better get ready," she said suddenly. "Daddy, can I talk to you before I change, _alone_," she emphasized alone.

They walked to Kim's room without the others following.

"So, Kimmie-cub, what is it that you wanted to talk about?" James asked, although he had a slight suspicion, he had nothing to follow up so all it could be is a suspicion unless Kim confirmed it.

Kim closed the door and said, "I was serious about dating a cyborg."

"So Ronald told you, then?" James asked rhetorically, his suspicions confirmed.

"Half and half," Kim admitted. "He demonstrated his strength and then explained."

"Kim, I would have loved to have told you, but I was sworn to secrecy," James explained to her. "Ezekiel isn't the kind of person to trust another's word, and, no offense, but from what I've heard from Ron, you are kind of a gossip," he finished, hoping Kim wouldn't be angry with him.

"I understand that," Kim reassured her father. "I'm not holding it against you, it's just a little surprising to find out that Ron has life support built in to him because of me," Kim said, still thinking she was responsible for what happened to Ron.

"Stop blaming yourself and just be glad that Ron is here," James told her. "He's still the same person, he can just do a lot more during missions," James told her, trying to cheer her up.

It worked a bit.

"It's just that I've been blind about what's been in front of me this whole time," Kim said as she turned her back to him.

James just smiled, "I wasn't exactly aware of my surroundings at your age myself, it took me quite a bit of time to figure out about your mother's advancements on me, but, as the saying goes, better late than never, and I've regretted every bit of time when I wasn't in a relationship with her." He paused when he saw a surprised look on Kim's face. He continued, "The best thing you can do is make up for lost time, and hope you're ready for the next step if and when it comes."

Kim nodded.

"Now I'll give you some privacy," James said as he closed the door.

Kim smiled as she removed her battle suit, put it on a hanger and hung it in the compartment in the back of her closet. She then put her prom dress back on and started fixing herself up. When she walked down to the bottom of the steps, she saw Ron in his black tux with a red rose fixed to his jacket and an white one in hand.

"I hope you weren't waiting long," Kim said to him.

"I got here about thirty seconds ago," he reassured her as he fixed the rose in hand to her dress. He stepped back to get a full view and snapped a freeze frame with his left eye. "I do believe that you could make the Mona Lisa glower in envy of your radiance," he complimented, causing Kim to blush.

"You're quite a looker yourself," she replied.

"How about we redo the pictures?" James suggested.

"Sure, but we'd better make it quick," Kim said to her father.

"Yeah, ten o'clock or not, you never know when another catastrophe will strike," Ron added.

"You first, Kim," James said as he picked up his camera with different film in it.

She did her poses as James snapped each picture.

Then Ron's turn came and James got him in some poses that truly showed his essential Ronness as well as a few normal shots.

They did a few together as well.

As Kim and Ron were leaving Ron told James, "I'll have her back before midnight."

"I'll hold you to that," James told him, giving him a look that promised something along the lines of him and a black hole if he didn't follow through.

Ron went straight to his bike, Kim waiting right by it with her helmet in hand.

They put their head gear on at the same time and Ron started the engine. There was no need to be moving at high speeds given that they were only going about one or two miles so they decided to move at about 30 mph. During their ride they noticed that Middleton seemed to be in good condition, considering what had happened a few hours earlier.

"We were lucky," Kim thought aloud.

"I agree, especially with that pen uncle Zeke gave us," Ron replied to his date. "We probably would have had to improvise without it. And I have no clue how much damage would have occured if that happened," he finished. He noticed that the school was coming into view so he was preparing to slow down.

Ron pulled into the parking space and dismounted his bike alongside Kim. He put the kickstand down and just looked at Kim, just staring, as if entranced.

Kim noticed him staring and started blushing, "We should go in."

This snapped Ron out of his thoughts as he nodded.

-

"And so, the attacks of the Little Diablos have been stopped thanks to the actions of Kim Possible and her partner, Ron Stoppable," a reporter's voice could he heard through a hand held television in the school gymnasium of Middleton High.

"She shoots, she scores," Brick said as he tried to high five his girlfriend, when she didn't respond he looked to see Monique holding her hand up and he followed through.

"And another good thing is they actually got Ron's name right," Monique added.

"Excuse me," Bonnie interrupted.

"Oh, you're excused, hey while you're gone I'll hang with Monique," Brick said, completely clueless to Bonnie's anger.

"Ooooh, me like," Monique said.

Just then the doors to the gym opened to reveal Kim and Ron walking in hand in hand.

'Now there's a guy who can pull off a tux,' Monique thought as she saw how sharply Ron was dressed.

The other girls in the gym were thinking along the same lines as they stared in awe of Ron's appearance and in envy that Kim had gotten him.

"It finally happened, she's dating that..." Bonnie couldn't finish that sentence because, given how far Ron went to keep Kim safe, calling him a loser wouldn't really make any sense. But that didn't stop her from yelling out, "Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable are dating." And she just couldn't laugh simply because not only was she expecting it, nearly everyone who's spent any form of recreational time with the two of them could tell that there was something between them.

With Bonnie's declaration, the whole gymnasium started erupting in cheers.

The only thought going through everyone's head was, 'It's about time.'

The two just blushed as the music started, not realizing how oblivious they've been about one another and how obvious they were to everyone else.

Rufus just folded his arms and climbed down Ron's pant leg and pushed Ron into Kim and vice versa. This was not an easy feat for Rufus given that Ron was a great deal heavier than he was use to dealing with.

"Well, the music is on," Ron said to his date. "May I have this dance?" he asked as he held his hand out.

Kim smiled at the cyborg, "It would be my pleasure." She took his hand and walked out to the dance floor.

The song playing seemed to represent their situation completely, Christy Carlson Romano's 'Could it Be'.

Although a little nervous, they were getting comfortable as they slow danced. They looked into each other's eyes, blushed a bit and smile. They hugged one another. As they let go their foreheads touched, which lead into a kiss that neither of them would forget.

As this happened, an image flashed into Ron's head, and as they broke away he smiled and said, "Third time's the charm."

"Pardon?" Kim asked, confused as they continued dancing.

"This was the third kiss that I'd had, I just remembered," Ron told her softly.

"Oh?" Kim raised her eyebrows. "And who were the first two from?"

"All three of them were from you," Ron answered her.

"You'll have to explain this to me," Kim said, even more confused than before.

The music just changed, snapping Ron out of his recollection as he nearly laughed at the song playing. "I swear uncle Zeke probably hacked into the system to get this song in," he said as the song continued.

Kim was confused until she heard one phrase in the song that nearly had her laughing as well.

* * *

To be continued...

My explanation with Ron's optical camera is simple, his left eye only does freeze frames while his right eye only does video recordings. And the song that's playing, well you'll just have to see next chapter won't you. I will give you a hint though, a movie is coming out. Anyway Read & Review.


	7. Chapter 6: Prom Aftermath

**Man and Machine**

**Disclaimer: I own neither Kim Possible nor Darkman.**

"Talking"

'Thinking'

_Flashbacks_

_Shame, that__'s all that I feel for myself. I'm not worthy to have such a wonderful family, a husband that has always had my well-being in mind, a son that anyone could truly say that they're proud of and a younger brother who is doing everything in his power to try and change the world for the better. All I've done is shunned my brother, ever since the occurence of the explosion that took my parents' lives I've acted like I resented him, even outright hated him in hopes that he would finally stop all of his research. That explosion showed me something, he might not be so lucky with just surviving with some injury as a reminder next time. I did this to try and coax him into giving up this lifestyle he's so determined to keep up. That rocket he built at the age of twelve could have been a warning, but everyone passed it off as a twelve-year-old's mistake. In truth I've done worse to my son, sending him to a horrible place just so that his genius mind wouldn't develop as well as his uncle's. I only did more harm than good, I separated him from his best friend and gave him several phobias. It wasn't until he started going on these missions with said friend that I realized that no matter how much you want, sometimes you just can't change who a person is meant to be. My only wish is that they can forgive me for all of the wrongs that I have done to them._

_- Veronica Nichole Stoppable_

Chapter 6: Prom Aftermath

* * *

The song that was currently playing was Black Sabbath's Iron Man.

"Seriously," Ron said as he was listening to the song. This song could have been a complete representation of him if he hadn't had Kim by his side. "What was uncle Zeke thinking?"

Kim herself was chuckling, "Apparently he has a sense of humor."

"An odd one," Ron told her, though he couldn't help but snicker himself.

"I don't know, it seems pretty funny to me," Kim admitted to her cyborg of a boyfriend. "I think I'll start calling you my Iron Man."

"You're the only one allowed to call me that," Ron told her. "It's not like many people would get the reference."

Kim nodded. She asked, "Now, when exactly did the first two kisses happen?"

"The second one was during the incident with the moodulator," Ron said to her.

Kim nodded, remembering that day clearly.

"The first one happened shortly before we were properly introduced," the cyborg explained to her. "I was trying to lecture a few guys giving you a hard time because of how scared you were," he paused a bit, letting her recall the incident.

_Flashback_

_It was during recess of preschool and a young auburn haired, green-eyed four year old girl with pigtails was being teased._

_A young male, around the same age, with messy blonde hair, chocolate brown eyes and freckles moved over to her._

"_You shouldn't tease her," he lectured the guys teasing the girl. "It's against the school rules, the rules are to be observed and followed accordingly," he finished, causing them to look at him in dead silence, all wondering if this guy was for real._

_Thinking he got through to them he turned around and moved to the girl, smile and asked, "Are you okay?"_

"_Look out," she warned a little too late as one of the bullies pushed him from behind._

_This, in turn, caused the blonde to fall forward, being that the girl was in front of him, she fell too. Now it wasn't so much of the fact that he landed on her or how he landed, which body draped across one another as it was what had occured as they hit the ground. The position their faces were in were mouth to mouth, which not only caused them to open their eyes widely, but also caused the bullies to run away, completely disgusted with what happened._

_After both had gotten out of that awkward position and the blushes cleared from their faces, the boy asked, "Are you okay, umm..." He thought for a bit, "What's your name, anyway?"_

"_Kim," she said to him. "Kim Possible, and I'm fine, thank you for asking."_

"_Ron Stoppable," the boy replied. "The incident aside, do you wanna be friends?" he asked her._

"_Sure," Kim responded with a cheeful smile, the awkward position almost completely forgotten. This was the start of a friendship that would certainly change the world for the better._

_End of Flashback_

"I must say that, although the kiss was involuntary, it wasn't unpleasant," Ron admitted to his date. "Awkward, but not unpleasant."

Kim blushed and smiled as she remembered the incident clearly now. Ron had been her first kiss, and she wouldn't have had it any other way.

"Although it doesn't feel as awkward now," Ron admitted as he heard the sounds of the acoustics of the song starting to play. This caused him to smile as he recognized the song, given that it was introduced earlier that year. "Seems appropriate," Ron said as he looked at Kim as they started slow dancing again. When the main lyrics came up Ron started saying, "The more I hear the music, the more I find myself relating to it."

"How so?" Kim asked, listening the the music herself.

"Throughout the years, especially on missions, I couldn't help but think that we'd been together, just you and me," Ron admitted to her. "And nearly the entire time, I just kept looking, unable to break the contact my eyes had made to you," he continued. "And it wasn't until a few weeks ago that I stopped asking myself 'Why don't my eyes ever leave you?'," he finished, giving Kim another smile.

"And why is that?" Kim asked, although she had already suspected an answer.

Ron sighed, knowing this would happen sooner or later, he stopped the slow dance before the song stopped and brought Kim to the corner to insure that they'd at least have a somewhat private conversation. "The explosion was what made me realize it," he told her as they sat down in some chairs that were there. "Your life really flashes before your eyes when you're staring death in the face," he explained. "As the explosion occured, one thought went through my head, which lead to a regret, although I was glad that I would die, knowing that it was to save you, my only regret would be that I would die without you knowing how much you meant to me," he admitted, looking her dead in the eyes, showing that he meant every word.

"So you're saying..." Kim started, but Ron interrupted her.

"I love you, Kim," he finally admitted to her. "I don't know when it started, and I don't want to know if it will end, but all I know is that I do, and that's all that really matters to me," Ron told her, expressing himself with complete sincerity.

Kim just smiled, knowing that what he said was genuine. "To tell you the truth, I've never admitted having any kind of feelings, other than attraction, in any of the past relationships I've been in," she told him. "And I'm glad I didn't, because I would have been lying without even realizing," she admitted. "Ron, I love you too," she finally said with no hesitation or reluctance in her voice.

They both leaned in for another kiss when someone interrupted.

"Hey, hey, hey, no PDA on school grounds whilst in my presence," came the voice of Vice-Principal and substitute teacher on multiple occasions, Steve Barkin. "I let the first one slide, because I couldn't just ruin that moment," he admitted. "And all current students get one freebie from me during school events like this," he whispered to them.

"So you're not all Drill Sergeant when it isn't during school hours," Ron observed the man carefully. "That's certainly a relief," he admitted with a chuckle.

"Considering that it isn't school hours, I'll let that one slide as well, but best stay on your toes, Stoppable," Barkin warned the cyborg as he walked away from them.

"Yeah, he's out to get you," Kim finally admitted.

"Finally, you get it," Ron gave an exasperated sigh.

Both started laughing after he made this comment.

After they'd calmed down Ron said, "I think we've spent enough time here, and you?"

"I agree," Kim said as they walked to the door.

Ron pulled his left hand up, put his middle finger and thumb into his mouth and whistled.

Hearing his master calling him, Rufus ran straight towards Ron and Kim as they headed towards the door, but not before waving Monique good bye.

Monique herself just looked at the two of them in envy. "I certainly wish I could find a relationship like that," she said to herself as the doors opened and closed.

-

Kim and Ron decided to ride straight home, the excitement of today left them tired. They both knew that this night was only the beginning for them.

As Ron pulled into the driveway he knew that he would have to part ways with Kim for the moment. At this point in time, that was probably one of the most difficult thoughts for him to accept. As he took his helmet off, he noticed that Kim seemed to be having similar thoughts.

"Everything just seems so unreal now," Kim admitted as they dismounted the bike. "It's like I've been looking but never really seeing things. Now things just feel like a dream, and I'm afraid that I'll wake up when we separate."

Ron smiled as he responded, "Well if this is a dream, I can only hope that I sleep eternally."

Kim smiled as she asked, "When did you become this sweet?"

"I'm not sure," Ron admitted to her. "I'm just saying what I feel. It helps to have a beautiful girl standing in front of me."

"You're just trying to get another kiss from me," Kim remarked to him. "And it worked," she said as she lip locked with the cyborg.

As they separated for air the only thing Ron could say was, "Booyah."

They broke contact with one another, both reluctant to do so.

"I'll see you tomorrow, my Iron Man," Kim told him as she walked to what was left of her front door.

"Sure thing, my beautiful princess," Ron told her as he walked back to his bike.

Kim blushed at his compliment as she watched him turn the engine on and ride off to where he was currently living. One question ran through her head, 'Why didn't I realize that I loved him before?' She walked inside with a smile on her face. 'He knows how to make a girl feel special, especially with that talented tongue of his,' she thought as she was thinking about how good he was at kissing.

* * *

End of Chapter

The year this fic is based in is 2005, and I did my research before jumping the gun. The song indicated, if anyone can figure it out, was introduced near the beginning of that year so I don't want any complaints about whether or not songs are accurate when they're playing in the fic. The album was also released before the time indicated in the movie so there is no real grounds for complaints unless the people just want to complain simply because they don't like the song.

Sometimes I think about a phrase in a song that could be used in the situation. Like 'And it worked,' is right before the first chorus for Only by Nine-Inch Nails. You don't come across people using some of the lyrics to songs occasionally so it kind of makes the wording original.

And sorry it took me a while to update, mostly I've been thinking about the storyline and how I should word it. And I'm also working on another story. Simply called **Flame of Penance**, and you can just guess the reference, I'm not sure whether or not you'll be right, but that doesn't mean you can't try.

Anyway, Read and Review.


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